At the invitation of the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, To Lam, undertook a state visit to Australia, accompanied by a high-level Vietnamese delegation.

The state visit to Australia by General Secretary and President To Lam bore profound historical significance, marking the first time a Vietnamese leader holding both these top positions has visited the country. The visit not only inaugurated a new phase of development for bilateral relations but also sent a strong message regarding the determination of both nations’ leaders to foster an increasingly effective partnership based on mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutual benefit.

Cooperation between the localities of the two countries is developing well. To date, 15 pairs of localities have established friendship relations. In Ho Chi Minh City, four Australian states — Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia — have established Trade and Investment Representative Offices.

Australia regards Southeast Asia as a priority in implementing its regional policy, with Viet Nam considered one of its leading important partners. Australia takes a positive stance and supports ASEAN centrality, as well as ASEAN’s positions on regional issues, including the East Sea/South China Sea. Australia regularly supports Viet Nam at regional and international forums.

Political trust between Viet Nam and Australia continues to be strengthened through high-level visits and contacts, dialogue mechanisms, and close coordination at regional and international forums. The two sides have actively implemented the major orientations set out in the joint statement on upgrading bilateral ties and carried out the 2024-2027 Action Plan. To date, around 96% of the action lines have been completed or implemented on schedule, demonstrating strong political determination and effective coordination among the ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries.

Broad prospects for cooperation

Since the upgrade of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Viet Nam-Australia relations have been developing strongly. During a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on April 24, Party General Secretary and President To Lam said that Australia has always been a reliable friend and a promising comprehensive strategic partner with an increasingly important position and role in the region, sharing with Viet Nam many strategic interests as well as common ground in inclusive development, green transition, the digital economy, and strategic autonomy.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation continues to be an important pillar of bilateral relations. Australia is currently one of Viet Nam's leading economic partners, while Viet Nam is increasingly affirming its position as a dynamic trading partner of Australia in Southeast Asia. Two-way trade reached 14 billion USD in 2025. Australia is currently Viet Nam's seventh-largest trading partner, while Viet Nam is Australia's 10th-largest trading partner. As of May 31, 2026, Australian investors had 734 valid projects in Viet Nam with total registered capital exceeding 1.9 billion USD, ranking 22nd among the countries and territories investing in Viet Nam.

Australia is one of Viet Nam's largest bilateral partners in terms of non-refundable ODA. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Australia has provided Viet Nam with more than 3 billion AUD in total. Australia also provided valuable support to help Viet Nam overcome difficulties following Typhoon Yagi in 2024 and Typhoons Bualoi and Matmo in 2025.

The two sides have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in security and defence through delegation exchanges; the signing of cooperation agreements; collaboration in crime prevention, immigration management, and combating illegal migration; and the sharing of information and experience and English-language training. The two countries have established a United Nations Peacekeeping Partnership. The Royal Australian Air Force has provided seven rounds of support to transport Viet Nam’s field hospital to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. Australian naval vessels have made numerous visits to Viet Nam. Australia is the only country to maintain a permanent representative at the Transnational Crime Prevention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, through which the two sides regularly exchange intelligence and cooperate in combating terrorism, human trafficking, drug-related crime, and other offences.

Education and human resource development remain pillars of bilateral cooperation, helping train a young generation with the skills and leadership capabilities needed to promote Viet Nam’s socio-economic development and innovation. Australian universities and research institutes are stepping up cooperation with Vietnamese partners to accelerate knowledge exchange and strengthen scientific and technological capacity. In 2026, with nearly 25,000 students, Viet Nam ranks fourth in terms of the numbers of students studying in Australia. There are currently more than 400 joint training programmes between educational institutions of the two countries in Viet Nam, including more than 40 undergraduate programmes.

Scientific and technological cooperation has been strengthened through numerous partnerships between universities and research institutes in the two countries. The two countries are implementing the second phase of the Aus4Innovation Programme and a memorandum of understanding on innovation, with a range of practical areas of cooperation in agriculture, healthcare, biosecurity, and the environment.

The number of Australian tourists visiting Viet Nam has increased steadily over the years, reaching nearly 550,000 in 2025, up 12% from 2024, placing Australia among Viet Nam’s 10 largest source markets. The number of Vietnamese tourists travelling to Australia has also continued to rise, reaching 200,000 in 2025 and making Viet Nam one of Australia’s top 10 international visitor markets for the first time. There are currently 56 round-trip flights between the two countries each week.

The Work Holiday Programme allows 1,500 Vietnamese citizens each year to travel to Australia while undertaking short-term employment. The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2022 to support Vietnamese citizens participating in Australia’s agricultural labour programme.

The Vietnamese community in Australia numbers around 375,000 people, making it the fifth-largest overseas-born ethnic community in the country. Vietnamese people live across most Australian states, with the largest concentrations in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

Speaking to the Viet Nam News Agency (VNA), Professor Carl Thayer, an expert on Viet Nam and Southeast Asia at the University of New South Wales, emphasised the special significance of this visit to Australia, as it marks the first State visit by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam to the country in his capacity as the head of the Vietnamese Party and State. The visit comes as the two countries are vigorously implementing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership while fulfilling their commitment to maintain annual meetings between their senior leaders. According to Professor Thayer, this demonstrates the determination of both Viet Nam and Australia to sustain the momentum of bilateral relations at the highest level.

Based on the expected agenda and documents that may be signed during Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s State visit to Australia, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam identified several areas of cooperation with the potential to generate breakthroughs in the coming period. First among these are science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and the digital economy, which are emerging as new drivers of growth in bilateral relations. Another promising area is cooperation in building sustainable supply chains and strengthening the resilience of the two economies. The visit is also expected to provide fresh impetus to traditional areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, education and training, and healthcare.

Ambassador Pham Hung Tam expressed confidence that the visit by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam would mark an important milestone, helping elevate political trust and further deepen the Viet Nam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The visit is expected to generate new momentum for the effective implementation of strategic cooperation priorities, translating political commitments into concrete, long-term and substantive programmes that deliver tangible benefits to the people and business communities of both countries.