Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his spouse had talks with Australian Governor-General David Hurley and his spouse in Canberra on March 7. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

CANBERRA — Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his spouse had a meeting with Australian Governor-General David Hurley and his spouse in Canberra on Thursday as part of the formers' ongoing official visit to Australia.

PM Chính expressed his pleasure to meet Governor-General Hurley and his spouse again after their state visit to Việt Nam in April 2023. He extended the regards of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng and other key Vietnamese leaders to the hosts.

He congratulated Australia on successfully organising the special summit marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia relations.

The PM thanked Australia for providing Việt Nam with valuable support both in the past and at present, including the construction of Mỹ Thuận and Cao Lãnh bridges in the Mekong Delta region, the transport of Level-2 Field Hospital to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, and the training of high quality human resources for Việt Nam.

For his part, Governor-General Hurley recalled his good memories during his visit to Việt Nam, and expressed his hope to visit Việt Nam again soon.

Highlighting the outcomes of the special summit commemorating the ASEAN-Australia 50-year partnership, the Governor-General said that the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 of Australia, which includes many important cooperation contents, is the foundation for Australia to build stronger relations with ASEAN member countries.

The two sides shared the delight at the fine development of the ties between the two countries after more than half a century of establishing diplomatic relations. They agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Australian Governor-General David Hurley and his spouse, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his spouse, took a tour around the Government House in Canberra, Australia. — VNA/VNS Photo

The two sides highly valued the upgrade of the Việt Nam-Australia relations on this occasion, holding that this is an important milestone in the bilateral ties, bringing practical benefits to people of the two countries and contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world.

PM Chính suggested Australia create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work and study in Australia, and maintain the Vietnamese language and traditions. Việt Nam welcomes Australian citizens to work, study and invest in Việt Nam, he affirmed.

Governor-General Hurley proposed Việt Nam continue to provide favourable conditions for major universities of Australia to open training establishments in Việt Nam. — VNS

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính wrote in the guests' book at the Government House during his talks with Australian Governor-General David Hurley. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang