Ha said that during the top legislator’s visit to Australia, the two sides discussed various issues in the bilateral strategic partnership, from politics, diplomacy to defence, security, trade, investment, education-training, tourism and people-to-people exchange.
Particularly, the Vietnamese NA leader underlined that labour cooperation is a priority of Vietnam, stressing that Vietnam is willing to send holiday workers to Australia. Alongside, the two sides also agreed to promote cooperation in issues of global concern such as digital transformation, climate change and just energy transition, said Ha.
He said that Vietnam and Australia also shared common interest in peace, security and cooperation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, including the ASEAN and the Mekong sub-region.
Ha said that regarding parliamentary cooperation, the two sides signed a new cooperation agreement on the promotion of their ties in the new period after lifting up their ties from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership, while affirming their commitments to working together towards a strategic comprehensive partnership.
NA Chairman Hue emphasised that political and diplomatic relationship is a foundation, while the trade and investment cooperation is a motivation, and the people-to-people contact is a catalyst for the promotion of the Vietnam-Australia relations to a new height in the time to come.
The two sides shared interest to discuss the contents of the bilateral relations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties in 2023.
Meanwhile, during his visit to New Zealand, the first by a Vietnamese NA leader to New Zealand after 18 years, Chairman Hue had various high-level activities, including talks with his counterpart, and a meeting with the Governor-General of New Zealand.
Vietnam is the only strategic partnership of New Zealand in Southeast Asia, he said, adding that the bilateral relations have been promoted strongly, especially in economy, trade and investment.
Leaders of the two sides shared the determination and wish to further bolster their partnership in trade and investment. Vietnam held two forums in education, and economic, trade and investment cooperation in the country. At the economic forum, NA Chairman Hue witnessed the exchange of an agreement between the two governments, which included Vietnam’s opening of market for New Zealand’s pumpkins and strawberries. Earlier during the New Zealand PM’s visit to Vietnam, New Zealand also announced its opening of door for Vietnamese pomelos and limes, said Ha.
He held that the opening of market for each other farm produce will help farmers of the two countries expand their production, contributing to increasing two-way trade.
Regarding the cooperation potential between Vietnam and Australia and New Zealand, Ha said that after a new cooperation between the parliaments of Vietnam and Australia was signed with new and in-depth contents, the external relations agencies of the two sides will work together to specify the deal, while sharing experience in law and institution building regarding issues of global concern such as climate change, sustainable development, digital transformation and just energy transition.
For New Zealand, Vietnam hopes to sign a cooperation agreement between the two parliaments to create a legal framework for the promotion and deepening of their parliamentary partnership, contributing to strengthening political trust and mutual understanding and optimising the bilateral strategic partnership, Ha said.
Australia and New Zealand are both important strategic partners of Vietnam in the South Pacific. The two countries have showed strong attachment to Southeast Asia as well as Asia and the Pacific, and sharing a close political, diplomatic, foreign relations, defence, security, trade and investment relations with countries in the region.
Both countries highly value the position and role of Vietnam in the current world situation. Australia and New Zealand are all important members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
These are very important legal foundations for Vietnam and the two countries to continue to promote their economic, trade and investment relations, especially in the field of agriculture, where both foreign countries are strong in and Vietnam has strong cooperation demand, stated Ha.
