Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reviews an honour guard in Australia. (Photo: VNA)Canberra (VNA) – A grand welcome ceremony was held with cannon salutefor Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, his spouse and the high-level delegationof Vietnam at the Parliament House on Capitol Hill, Canberra, Australia onMarch 15.
The ceremony was chaired by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and hisspouse.
Following the welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks withhis Australian counterpart.
After talks, the twoPrime Ministers are to witness the signing of important bilateral cooperativeagreements, including a joint statement on establishing the Vietnam-AustraliaStrategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Australia took place in thecontext of the thriving bilateral relations, especially after the two countriesset up Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and inked the declaration on enhancingthe partnership in 2015.
Two-way trade grows over 7 percent every year to reach nearly 6.5 billion USDin 2017, up 22.2 percent against 2016. Australia ranks 20th among126 countries and territories landing investment in the Southeast Asian nationwith 412 projects valued at 1.8 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam has 44 projectsworth 387.1 million USD in Australia.
Australia is currently among the largest non-refundable official developmentassistance providers for Vietnam with over 110 million AUD in aid every yearfrom 2010.
Both sides have enjoyed strong cooperation in education with a line-up ofAustralian scholarships granted to Vietnamese students every year. There aresome 30,000 Vietnamese students pursuing study in the country.-VNA
VNA
