News Story: Vietnamese government backs increased defence link with Australia & Vietnamese, Australian defence ministers hold talks

Vietnamese government backs increased defence link with Australia

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Government supports the Vietnamese and Australian defence ministries to strengthen practical and sustainable ties to match bilateral strategic partnership and contribute to peace, stability and development in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the statement at his reception for visiting Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne in Hanoi on August 24. 

He lauded the development of bilateral defence ties in line with the Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation signed in 2010. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

--

Vietnamese, Australian defence ministers hold talks

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne agreed to consider the organisation of the first deputy ministerial defence policy dialogue and Australia’s support for Vietnam’s deployment of UN peace keeping forces during their talks in Hanoi on August 24.

Australia’s Defence Minister Marise Payne is on an official visit to Vietnam on August 24-25. This is the fourth official visit to Vietnam by a defence minister of Australia since the two countries set up defence ties in 1999, which realises bilateral commitments to intensifying defence cooperation for peace, stability, and wealth of the region.

At the talks, the ministers discussed regional security issues of shared concern and orientations for bilateral defence cooperative activities in the coming time.

They shared the view that the two countries’ defence cooperation is substantive, stable, and sustainable, and it is in line with the memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation inked in 2010.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: (Vietnam) Deputy Defence Minister meets Vice Chief of Australia’s Defense Force

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam and Australia need to maintain and develop further their defense cooperation, said Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), and Deputy Minister of National Defense.

He made the statement at a meeting with Vice Admiral Raymond Griggs, Vice Chief of Australia’s Defense Force, in Hanoi on July 27, as part of the guest’s ongoing visit to Vietnam from July 26-30.

Giang said the bilateral defense cooperation has reaped positive outcomes over the past time, including the effective implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field signed in 2010.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to the comprehensive cooperation with Australia and hoped the two sides will increase all-level delegation exchanges and explore new cooperation spheres.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Deputy PM visits Australia to beef up bilateral ties

Sydney (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue held working sessions with some Australian officials on July 24 to seek measures to further foster partnership between the two countries.

At a meeting with Treasurer Scott Morrison, Deputy PM Hue, who is on a visit to Australia from July 23-25, highly valued Australia’s commitment to continue providing development assistance to Vietnam in various fields such as environment, the improvement of livelihoods for mountainous and rural areas, climate change response, and gender equality.

Morrison lauded Vietnam’s role as the host of the APEC 2017 with many important meetings. Vietnam has also devised the agenda for the event, which received high approval from member economies, he said.

He affirmed Australia’s policy of giving top priority to cooperation with the ASEAN and the country’s wish to help promote ASEAN’s solidarity, self-reliance, prosperity and central role in the region.

The two sides agreed that bilateral partnership is experiencing a sound period, with strong collaboration in economy, trade and investment. They lauded the close ties between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and Australia’s Treasury, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in 2012. 

The two sides are also discussing the signing of another deal for the new period to 2020, aiming to share experience in finance-budget, state budget allocation and the management of bad debt and public debt of joint stock commercial banks, and maintaining the macro economy’s stability.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Vietnamese PM meets leaders of RoK, Australia in Hamburg

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc
(Image: Wiki Commons)

Hamburg (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had official meetings with President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull on July 7 on the fringe of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.

On behalf of President Tran Dai Quang, PM Phuc invited the RoK and Australian leaders to attend the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting slated for this November in Vietnam. They thanked and accepted the invitation with pleasure.

He highly valued the RoK President sending a special envoy to Vietnam shortly after he was sworn into office, saying the move showed that President Moon attached importance to the two countries’ strategic partnership.

The two sides agreed to increase high-ranking visits and meetings amid the 25th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year. The countries will bolster cultural exchanges and economic, trade and investment cooperation in order to raise bilateral trade to 100 billion USD in 2020.

Highlighting the RoK’s role as the biggest investor and the third largest trade partner of Vietnam, PM Phuc asked the RoK to import more advantageous products of Vietnam, like agro-forestry-fishery products, and to work closely with his country to effectively implement the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: (Vietnam) PM receives Special Envoy of Australian PM

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam wants to elevate ties with Australia during a reception in Hanoi on June 27 for Frances Adamson, Special Envoy of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. 

PM Phuc underlined the strong development of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Australia, noting that the two countries have become important partners of each other in many fields.

He thanked the Australian PM for inviting him to the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit scheduled for March 2018, saying that the event will strengthen ties between ASEAN and Australia, and Vietnam and Australia in particular. 

Speaking highly of Australia’s supply of official development assistance to Vietnam, the PM also expressed wish that Australian firms will pay more attention to Vietnam, particularly in fields of mutual strength such as hi-tech agriculture, animal husbandry, infrastructure, information technology, education and high technology. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Vietnam remains key Asian-Pacific partner of Australia - Julie Bishop

Sydney (VNA) – Australia continues to see Vietnam as one of its key partners in Asia-Pacific, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on November 30.

At the talks, Minh, who is on an official visit to Australia from November 29 to December 1, said his country wants to enhance intensive and effective cooperation with Australia in all fields for the sake of the two peoples.

Both sides expressed their delight at the flourishing relations between their countries and between the two foreign ministries, especially since Vietnam and Australia set up the comprehensive partnership in 2009 and signed a declaration on enhancing the comprehensive partnership in 2015.

The countries have regularly organised high-level visits and meetings and brought into full play bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the high-level consultation on development assistance, the joint committee on scientific and technological cooperation, the foreign affairs-defence strategic dialogue, and the agricultural forum.

Australia is currently the eighth largest trade partner of Vietnam and also accommodates the biggest number of Vietnamese students. Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation has received a large number of Australian students and apprentices under the New Colombo Plan.

Australia’s development assistance for Vietnam has been used effectively, thus practically contributing to local socio-economic development, the two FMs noted.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus