General Secretary & President Tô Lâm (left) had talks with Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley on August 10 as part of his State visit to Australia. — VNA/VNS Photo

SYDNEY — Việt Nam–Australia relations are developing positively and becoming increasingly substantive, effective and profound, particularly in areas that will determine the competitiveness and prosperity of both countries in the coming decades, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and President Tô Lâm has said.

At a meeting with Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley on Monday as part of his State visit to Australia, the Vietnamese leader expressed his belief that cooperation between New South Wales and Vietnamese localities will continue to deepen, underpinned by sound political ties and strengthened people-to-people exchanges as infrastructure and air connectivity between the two countries are further improved.

Suggesting that Australia could explore growing Vietnamese coffee varieties, General Secretary and President Lâm said the two sides should step up cooperation across a wide range of areas, particularly high-tech agriculture, biotechnology, agricultural processing, trade and investment.

He affirmed that Việt Nam supports Australia’s development and wishes to work together to advance ties between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific region.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and President Tô Lâm writes a message in the guest book during his meeting with Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

For her part, Beazley warmly welcomed General Secretary and President Lâm and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to New South Wales, while expressing her appreciation for the contributions of Australians of Vietnamese origin, with many of them having achieved success in various fields and assumed important positions and roles in New South Wales.

The Governor strongly agreed with the Vietnamese leader’s proposal to make science and technology and innovation new pillars of bilateral cooperation, alongside efforts to develop and train high-quality human resources, promote agricultural cooperation and expand collaboration in other areas where the two sides have strengths.

New South Wales is Australia’s oldest state and played a central role in forming the Australian Federation. With Sydney as its capital and a globally renowned city, the state has long been a leading driver of Australia’s socio-economic development.

Việt Nam is a key export market for New South Wales, including for goods and education services. Education and training is a prominent area of cooperation, with the state attracting a large number of Vietnamese students to prestigious universities such as the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

New South Wales and HCM City of Việt Nam established official friendship and cooperation ties in 2019. — VNA/VNS