Renee Deschamps, Chargé d'Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Renee Deschamps, Chargé d'Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam, has affirmed that Việt Nam is an important country to Australia, not just a trading partner. In an interview granted to the Việt Nam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the New Year holidays, the diplomat noted “the relationship has never been better”.

Việt Nam and Australia celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year. How do you evaluate cooperation outcomes over the past more than five decades?

The Australia and Việt Nam relationship is one of mutual trust and the relationship has never been better. The upgrading of our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in March 2024 reflects the strategic and political trust between our countries and the ambition we both hold for the future here and for the region, one of stability and prosperity.

Việt Nam and Australia are different in many ways, but 50 years of cooperation has created a very strong and positive relationship. Australia delivered the first submarine cable, the first satellite links, the first north-south 500 KV powerlines and the first bridges over the Mekong. As Việt Nam’s standard of living rises and its economy modernises, there will be even broader opportunities for collaboration with Australia.

Việt Nam is an important country to Australia, and not just as a trading partner. A peaceful, prosperous and sovereign Việt Nam is essential for the stability and prosperity of our entire region. And while the challenges facing Việt Nam (and the world) may be significant, as comprehensive strategic partners we have the framework to forge ahead with optimism for future success.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese agreed to upgrade the Việt Nam-Australia relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership earlier this year. What are prospects of cooperation between the two countries, especially after the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership?

In October 2024, our Foreign Ministers met in Adelaide, Australia, and signed the Plan of Action to implement our CSP. In 2025, we will work together with Việt Nam to take the plan forward which means greater cooperation in six focus areas: Deepening Political, Defence Security and Justice Cooperation; Enhancing Economic Engagement; Building Knowledge and Connecting People; Strengthening Climate, Environment and Energy Cooperation; Supporting Science, Technology, Innovation and Developing Digital Transformation; and Reinforcing Regional and International Cooperation.

The Australian business community is excited by the potential of Việt Nam’s economy, and we anticipate continued reforms to improve the business environment for foreign investors and in the visitor economy. With the recent release of revised regulations for education cooperation in Việt Nam, we hope to see more Australian universities establish operations here to support Việt Nam with high-quality, industry-relevant human resource development. Two-way trade is also another shining light with further growth expected in line with Việt Nam’s overall rise in living standards.

How do you assess Việt Nam's achievements and its efforts to promote its role and position regionally and internationally over the past time?

From the very beginning of our relationship, Australia has been a vocal supporter of Việt Nam’s international integration. Our region and the international community are stronger because of Việt Nam’s engagement and we have been pleased to see Việt Nam playing an ever more active role on the global stage.

We acknowledge and support ASEAN centrality and recognise that ASEAN is central to regional stability and security. Australia was honoured to welcome ASEAN Leaders to Melbourne to celebrate our 50 years of dialogue partnership in March 2024 at the Australia-ASEAN Special Summit. The Melbourne Declaration signed at that Special Summit sets out a bright future for ASEAN-Australia relations, highlighting key areas of our cooperation, the importance of a rules-based Indo-Pacific region based on adherence to international law, and shared views on regional and international issues.

We are also strongly supportive of Việt Nam taking an ever-greater leadership role in ASEAN, such as through establishing and hosting the annual ASEAN Future Forum in Hà Nội, an excellent and important initiative for ASEAN’s future which Australia is proud to support.

Party General Secretary Tô Lâm has outlined strategic directions to bring Việt Nam into a new era - the era of the nation's rise. How do you think about this, and how about Australia's support for Việt Nam during the process?

As an outside observer, there appears to be a broad consensus that a new period of renovation is necessary for Việt Nam to achieve its goals of becoming a high-income country by 2045. General Secretary’s speech to the special conference of the Politburo on December 1, 2024 was particularly striking in its tone, calling for action to create the necessary conditions to make change happen. While change can bring uncertainty, we have seen in Việt Nam the positive outcomes of similar efforts in the past such as the Đổi Mới economic reforms.

Việt Nam Australia Centre (VAC) within the Hồ Chí Minh Academy of Politics has facilitated studies and exchanges on civil service reform. One of the most unique features of the bilateral development partnership is the prestigious leadership capability development delivered by the Việt Nam Australia Centre. The VAC demonstrates the prioritisation of both our countries on public sector leadership, including advancing women in leadership, research and knowledge exchange. We learn from each other to tackle the complex challenges Việt Nam and much of the rest of the world face.

The New Era is dawning at a time when global conditions are becoming more challenging. In the face of rising geopolitical competition, we expect that Việt Nam will continue to maintain its careful neutrality and Việt Nam’s engagement with the world to increase, in line with its interests, needs and ambition. — VNS