Linda Dessau said that her state always attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam, reflected through the opening of a trade and investment office in the Southeast Asian country in 2021, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on trade, investment, education - training, science and technology and food processing with Ho Chi Minh City this year.
As Victoria state has strengths in education-training, agricultural economic development, manufacturing, mining, finance, health and sports, it hopes Vietnam will continue creating favourable conditions for it to expand cooperation with Vietnamese localities in these fields and other potential ones.
She also appreciated the contributions by the Vietnamese community in her state.
Hue, in turn, thanked and asked the state to continue supporting and creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to have a stable life and maintain their contributions to the host country and the bilateral relations.
He appreciated the signing of the MoU between the two major economic centres of the two countries: Ho Chi Minh City and Victoria, considering it as a model in cooperation between their localities in the future. He said he hopes the two sides will expand collaboration in other areas such as urban planning and climate change response.
The top legislator also stated he welcomes Victoria leaders to visit Vietnam as well as its investors to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities.
Receiving Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for ManufacturingTim Ayres, NA Chairman Hue showed his delight at the strong development of the bilateral relations in all fields. Two-way trade for the first time exceeded the 10-billion-USD mark to 12.4 billion USD in 2022, and hit 13.4 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year, up 33% year-on-year.
However, he noted that the economic, trade and investment ties are not commensurate with the two countries’ potential.
He expressed his hope that Tim Ayres, in his positions, will further promote the opening of the market for Vietnamese agricultural products, support Vietnam to develop hi-tech agriculture, and intensify cooperation in education-training, culture, tourism, climate change response, and cooperation in the Mekong sub-region.
The two sides agreed to strengthen collaboration in responding to regional and international challenges, including climate change and energy security.
