Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines in Hanoi on August 27, 2024.

At a meeting with President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines in Hanoi on Tuesday, Mr. Chinh hailed the upgrade of the bilateral  relationship, saying it opens a new chapter, with greater political trust and broader and more extensive cooperation. The Australian official affirmed that Vietnam is a crucial partner of Australia, and that the Australian government and parliament highly prioritize relations with Vietnam in its foreign policy on the region. The two sides agreed to continue promoting dialogue, sharing information, and enhancing mutual understanding and trust, deepening defense and security cooperation, and boosting economic cooperation to raise bilateral trade to 20 billion USD, and doubling bilateral investment within the next 2-3 years.

At the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines

The two countries will explore and enhance cooperation in new and promising areas such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, digital transformation, science - technology and innovation, they said.

The Australian Senate President affirmed that Australia is always attentive to and creates favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia. She acknowledged Vietnam’s proposal to ease visa issuance for Vietnamese citizens and students.

Vietnam and Australia need to enhance consultation, share information, assess and coordinate policies, and work closely together in regional and international forums, thus positively contributing to building a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and prosperous Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, with ASEAN playing a central role, the leaders said. Ms. Lines reaffirmed Australia's consistent stance on the East Sea issue, saying that her country supports Vietnam’s and ASEAN's principled stance on ensuring navigation and overflight security, safety, and freedom; and resolving disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of respect for international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).