Australian officers greet Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on Sunday evening. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

SYDNEY — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on Sunday evening (local time), beginning a four-day state visit to Australia at the invitation of Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

The Vietnamese leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport by Australian officials, along with representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, Consulates General and other Vietnamese representative agencies in Australia.

Việt Nam and Australia established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973, and have since built a strong and enduring partnership with increasingly diverse and growing interests. Việt Nam is now regarded as one of Australia's most important bilateral partners.

The two countries maintain regular high-level meetings and exchanges and many bilateral cooperation mechanisms, while closely coordinating within ASEAN, APEC and the United Nations. The two-way trade currently exceeds US$14 billion, while science, technology and innovation are emerging as new pillars of the bilateral ties.

More than 35,000 Vietnamese students are currently studying in Australia, while a Vietnamese community of over 350,000 people, together with networks of intellectuals and businesspeople, serves as a strong bridge between the two nations.

Australia is also an important provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Việt Nam, supporting infrastructure development, digital transformation, climate change response and green transition, while expanding the training of Vietnamese officials through the Việt Nam-Australia Centre at the Hồ Chí Minh National Academy of Politics.

Australia is the only country to have supported Việt Nam in transporting field hospitals, and provided English-language and military medical training, helping strengthen Việt Nam's capacity to participate in UN peacekeeping operations.

The trip is particularly significant as it is General Secretary and President Tô Lâm’s first visit to Australia in his new position and the first by a key Vietnamese leader since the two countries elevated their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.

It demonstrates the importance Việt Nam attaches to Australia as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific and the Southeast Asian nation's determination to deepen the new partnership framework. — VNA/VNS