Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second, right) and his spouse are greeted by Australian PM Anthony Albanese and his fiancée in Canberra. (Photo: VNA)Following is the full text of the Joint Statement.
1. Vietnam and Australia have built a strong and broad relationship throughmutual strategic trust and understanding since establishing diplomaticrelations in 1973. The Vietnam‑Australia Strategic Partnership, announced in 2018, supportedthe deepening of ties across all areas of the bilateral relationship. Ourfriendship and cooperation are underpinned by complementary economies,converging interests and deep people-to-people ties.
2. We share acommon vision for an inclusive, stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous Indo‑Pacific, free from coercion, where independence, sovereignty and international law are respected. We jointly determine to abide by international law,including the United Nations Charter, which underpins regional and globalpeace, stability and prosperity. We recognise the importance of our collectivecapacity to shape the response to changing dynamics in our shared region and toaddress common challenges.
3. Recognising that our relationship is now stronger than ever, the HonourableAnthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia and H.E. Mr. Pham Minh Chinh,Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam announced the elevation of the bilateralrelationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, at their Annual Leaders’Meeting on March 7, 2024 onthe occasion of the official visit to Australia by H.E. Mr. Pham Minh Chinhfrom March 7-9, 2024. This reflects our high level of ambition for therelationship and deepening cooperation.
4. In declaring a Comprehensive StrategicPartnership, our two Governments undertake to continue to develop all aspectsof our relationship and commit to take forward our elevated partnership whilerespecting international law and each other’s sovereignty, independence,territorial integrity and political systems.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at a press conference following their talks. (Photo: VNA)5. We renew our commitment to frequent high-levelengagement in all channels between the Communist Party, Government and NationalAssembly of Vietnam, and the political parties, Government and Parliament ofAustralia; and to bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including Annual Leaders’Talks.
6. We acknowledge our close defence, security and justice ties, whichcontribute to peace, stability and the development of the region, includingthrough education and training, practical exchange and peacekeeping support. Wewill work together to expand these programs, including elevating ourpeacekeeping cooperation to a Peacekeeping Partnership and the current ViceMinisterial Security Dialogue to the Ministerial level.
7. We commit to enhancing law enforcement and intelligence cooperation throughcloser cooperation between Vietnamese and Australian police, maritime andborder authorities to target and disrupt transnational organised crimeimpacting our mutual interests, including people smuggling and human trafficking,drug-related crimes, money laundering, terrorism and its financing, cybercrimeand sexual exploitation. We will strengthen our cooperation on legal andjudicial matters of mutual interest.
8. We commit to broadening cooperation, including in defence industry, maritimesecurity, information and intelligence sharing; strengthening maritimecooperation, including sustainable marine resource management and combatingillegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; and enhancing cooperation incyber-security and critical technology, including through cyber capacitybuilding initiatives to address cyber security threats.
9. We will continue good practice of information sharing and forecasting onstrategic issues of mutual concern related to each country’s national securityand interests.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese exchange the joint statement. (Photo: VNA) 10. We commit to further deepening the bilateral trade and investmentrelationship, enhancing economic cooperation and pursuing more open trade andinvestment through global and regional economic integration. We acknowledge theneed to build supply chain resilience and pursue trade diversification topromote economic resilience. We reaffirm our commitment to the full andeffective implementation of the Vietnam - Australia Enhanced EconomicEngagement Strategy and additional actions to implement Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.
11. We recognise the importance of high-quality investment to support sharedprosperity, skills and innovation, green growth, productivity, people-to-peoplelinks, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth for allpeople in their diversity. We will promote market access and trade facilitationmeasures for both countries, including in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.We confirm our commitment to enhanced labour mobility, including through accessfor Vietnamese citizens to work in Australia and Australian citizens to work inVietnam.
12. We recognise the importance of promoting a transparent business andregulatory environment, including to support investment and sustainablefinancing through capital markets and other mechanisms.
13. We continue to cooperate closely to advance a strong rules-based, non‑discriminatory,fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system as thebasis for open international trade based on market principles, with the WorldTrade Organization (WTO) at its core. We reaffirm our commitment tostrengthening and reforming the WTO, including the dispute settlement system.
14. We reaffirm our commitment to fully implementing the agreements of whichboth countries are members such as the ASEAN‑Australia‑New Zealand Free TradeArea (AANZFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement(RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTTP). We will work together through other internationalmechanisms such as ASEAN-related mechanisms, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), theWTO, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Indo-Pacific EconomicFramework for Prosperity (IPEF), to create a more stable, predictable,inclusive and transparent trade and investment environment and generatebusiness confidence in our strong economic relations, while addressing new andemerging trade challenges.
15. We recognise the vital role of international standards and best practiceregulatory approaches to facilitate trade, drive innovation, enhance resilienceand tackle global economic, social and environmental challenges. We affirm ourshared commitment to promoting the mutual understanding and uptake ofinternational standards.
16. We commit to further strengthening our agricultural partnership byenhancing trade and investment, co-operating on shared regional challenges andpromoting technical, research collaboration and capacity developmentinitiatives that support more competitive, resilient and sustainableagriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors.
17. We acknowledge Australia's long-standing official development assistance(ODA) to Vietnam. Australia will continue to support Vietnam’s developmentefforts through bilateral, sub‑regional and regional initiatives focused onareas that are consistent with Vietnam’s socio‑economic developmentorientation. We acknowledge the contribution that social organisations continueto make to Vietnam’s socio-economic agenda. We recognise the importance ofensuring timely and effective delivery of ODA and commit to ensuring domesticapprovals processes are streamlined to meet this goal.
Building Knowledge and Connecting People
18. We recognise the pivotalrole of people-to-people ties in fostering our relations and acknowledge thestrengthening connections between the communities and people’s organisations ofboth countries.
19. We recognise the strong contribution of knowledge and innovationpartnerships to our relationship and the improvement of the lives of ourcitizens and commit to strengthening the participation and leadership of womenand girls and persons in vulnerable situations in all areas of cooperation.
20. We commit toworking together to support Vietnam’s human resource development and exploreopportunities to increase education and training cooperation through dialogues,cooperation mechanisms and institutional linkages. We will continue to worktogether to enable increased cooperation and foreign investment in education inVietnam to enable Australian universities to open foreign branch campuses in Vietnam.
21. We commit toworking together to support skills formation, including by supporting Vietnamto develop national policies and frameworks that encourage industry engagementand a responsive vocational education and training system. We also encourageinstitutional partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese vocationaleducation institutions and Vietnam’s private sector.
22. We welcome and will look for opportunities to support increased travel andtourism between our two countries. We commit to strengthening the two-way flowof young people seeking to holiday and work in Australia and Vietnam throughthe reciprocal Work and Holiday visa arrangement. We commit to continuing thetwo-way flow of students between Australia and Vietnam.
23. We acknowledge the rich contribution of the Australian Vietnamese communityand its role in boosting the strong people‑to‑people links, economic ties andengagement, which underpin our bilateral relationship. We will continue tofacilitate the important contributions made by the Vietnamese community inAustralia and the Australian community in Vietnam to our close bilateral ties.
24. Werenew our commitment to promote and protect human rights in accordance withinternational law and to strengthen and contribute to the work of the UnitedNations Human Rights Council and its mechanisms. We will continue sincere,frank and constructive conversations, including through our annual Human RightsDialogue. We will cooperate to foster inclusive societies that embrace andprovide equal opportunities and respect for the human rights of all people,without discrimination of any kind.
25. We recognise the importance of cultural collaborationin strengthening people‑to‑people links between Australia and Vietnam and willexplore opportunities to invest in cultural exchange and collaboration acrossall art forms and collecting institutions.
26. We commit to deepening our cooperation on civil service reform by promotinggood governance and regulatory reform. In this regard, were affirm our commitment to the growth of the Vietnam-Australia Centreas a platform to develop capacity building opportunities across the civilservices of Vietnam and its neighbours.
Strengthening Climate, Environment andEnergy Cooperation
27. We acknowledge the significant impacts the climate crisis is having inour region and the importance of taking urgent and ambitious climate action todeliver on the goals of the ParisAgreement, while ensuringeconomic prosperity as we transition our economies to net-zero by 2050. Werecognise the shared challenges Australia and Vietnam face in responding toclimate change. We affirm the importance of adopting an ambitious, cooperativeand proactive approach to the challenges that lie ahead. We commit to seizingthe opportunities inherent in our respective clean energy transitions tostrengthen our economies and support global decarbonisation goals. We will worktogether to support Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition that balances economicgrowth and net‑zero goals by helping to stimulate higher levels of privatesector finance and investment into Vietnam’s mitigation and adaptation efforts,developing high quality human resources and strengthening governance.
28. In support of Vietnam’s efforts to respond to the impacts of climatechange, we commit to drawing on a range of Australia’s resources, includingODA, trade and export finance, climate finance and our domestic expertise. We continue to explore opportunities for cooperation onclimate action, carbon markets and in the green economy.
29. We will deepen our collaboration on climate adaptation and resilience,climate‑resilient agriculture, biodiversity conservation, marine science forsustainable development, plastic pollution reduction and food and watersecurity, especially in the Mekong Delta, including through theMekong-Australia Partnership.
30. To promote our shared energy security in the transition, we will continueto expand collaboration on energy and resources, including through increasedtrade and investment. We also continue to develop emerging, resilient anddiverse renewable energy supply chains through the integration of technologicalsolutions that help both nations meet net‑zero goals.
31. We reaffirm our commitment to a Ministerial Dialogue on Energy and Mineralsand will explore opportunities to deepen cooperation on commodities, products,technologies and services associated with energy systems and carriers, powergeneration, mining, extractives, processing, minerals and fossil fuels,including coal, oil and gas.
Supporting Science, Technology,Innovation and Developing Digital Transformation
32. We commit to deepeningstrategic cooperation in science, technology (including new and critical emergingtechnologies), cyber and innovation. We will increase our cooperation to buildcapacity across science, innovation and technology for the sustainable andinclusive development of Vietnam’s national research and innovation system,including by supporting women in the fields of science, technology, engineeringand mathematics.
33. We will continue to work closely to foster collaboration between Australianand Vietnamese businesses, universities and research institutions viainitiatives to enhance research quality, knowledge mobility and training youngand talented scientists; promoting safe and responsible technology adoptionamong small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and improving national innovationecosystems and building capacity for the sustainable and inclusive developmentof Vietnam's national research and innovation system.
34.We will deepen cooperation on digital transition and digital inclusion,including through a Digital Economy Memorandum of Understanding, which willidentify priority areas for digital trade cooperation and include a work planfor implementation. We reaffirm our commitment to sharing experiences thatsupport Vietnam and Australia to enhance digital government transformation andaddress digital government objectives.
Reinforcing Regional and InternationalCooperation
35. We will continue to work closely bilaterally, trilaterally andmultilaterally to extend mutual support to the institutions that underpin anopen, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. We commit to our shared goal ofreinforcing and developing regional, sub-regional and internationalinstitutions to promote our common political, economic, and security interestsand address regional and global issues of concern. We will seek to encourageall in our region to pursue dialogue as the first step to build confidence,de-escalate any tensions and take positive steps to maintain an environmentthat guards against conflict.
36. We recognise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as centralto regional stability and prosperity and support ASEAN centrality and unity inthe evolving regional architecture that is open, transparent, inclusive andrules-based, anchored in international law. Wewill deepen our cooperation in ASEAN-led mechanisms and work collaboratively todevelop further the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in ameaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial manner. We reaffirm our supportfor the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo‑Pacific (AOIP) and the importance of theprinciples set out in the AOIP in shaping a peaceful, secure and prosperousregion.
37. We express our concerns on the situation in the South China Sea andreaffirm our commitment to peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, to therespect for legal and diplomatic processes and to the settlement of disputes,including those in the South China Sea, by peaceful means without resorting tothe threat or use of force, in accordance with international law, particularlythe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We reaffirmthat UNCLOS sets out the comprehensive legal framework within which allactivities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. We maintain our callthat the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea(DOC) should be implemented in its entirety and that any Code of Conduct forthe South China Sea should be effective and substantive, in accordance withinternational law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, and should not prejudice the rightsof any state under international law.
38. We acknowledge the importance of a prosperous and resilient Mekong sub‑regionand the need for regional cooperation to address shared challenges, includingclimate change, energy transition, transboundary water management and foodsecurity and to ensuring regional security. We commit to continuing ourlongstanding cooperation to support the sub-region’s integration andsustainable development, including through the Mekong-Australia Partnership andFriends of the Mekong, and supporting other Mekong-led frameworks to promote aresilient, sustainable and inclusive Mekong sub-region.
Concluded on March 7, 2024 in duplicate, in English andVietnamese, each being equally valid./.
11. We recognise the importance of high-quality investment to support sharedprosperity, skills and innovation, green growth, productivity, people-to-peoplelinks, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth for allpeople in their diversity. We will promote market access and trade facilitationmeasures for both countries, including in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.We confirm our commitment to enhanced labour mobility, including through accessfor Vietnamese citizens to work in Australia and Australian citizens to work inVietnam.
12. We recognise the importance of promoting a transparent business andregulatory environment, including to support investment and sustainablefinancing through capital markets and other mechanisms.
13. We continue to cooperate closely to advance a strong rules-based, non‑discriminatory,fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system as thebasis for open international trade based on market principles, with the WorldTrade Organization (WTO) at its core. We reaffirm our commitment tostrengthening and reforming the WTO, including the dispute settlement system.
14. We reaffirm our commitment to fully implementing the agreements of whichboth countries are members such as the ASEAN‑Australia‑New Zealand Free TradeArea (AANZFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement(RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTTP). We will work together through other internationalmechanisms such as ASEAN-related mechanisms, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), theWTO, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Indo-Pacific EconomicFramework for Prosperity (IPEF), to create a more stable, predictable,inclusive and transparent trade and investment environment and generatebusiness confidence in our strong economic relations, while addressing new andemerging trade challenges.
15. We recognise the vital role of international standards and best practiceregulatory approaches to facilitate trade, drive innovation, enhance resilienceand tackle global economic, social and environmental challenges. We affirm ourshared commitment to promoting the mutual understanding and uptake ofinternational standards.
16. We commit to further strengthening our agricultural partnership byenhancing trade and investment, co-operating on shared regional challenges andpromoting technical, research collaboration and capacity developmentinitiatives that support more competitive, resilient and sustainableagriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors.
17. We acknowledge Australia's long-standing official development assistance(ODA) to Vietnam. Australia will continue to support Vietnam’s developmentefforts through bilateral, sub‑regional and regional initiatives focused onareas that are consistent with Vietnam’s socio‑economic developmentorientation. We acknowledge the contribution that social organisations continueto make to Vietnam’s socio-economic agenda. We recognise the importance ofensuring timely and effective delivery of ODA and commit to ensuring domesticapprovals processes are streamlined to meet this goal.
Building Knowledge and Connecting People
18. We recognise the pivotalrole of people-to-people ties in fostering our relations and acknowledge thestrengthening connections between the communities and people’s organisations ofboth countries.
19. We recognise the strong contribution of knowledge and innovationpartnerships to our relationship and the improvement of the lives of ourcitizens and commit to strengthening the participation and leadership of womenand girls and persons in vulnerable situations in all areas of cooperation.
20. We commit toworking together to support Vietnam’s human resource development and exploreopportunities to increase education and training cooperation through dialogues,cooperation mechanisms and institutional linkages. We will continue to worktogether to enable increased cooperation and foreign investment in education inVietnam to enable Australian universities to open foreign branch campuses in Vietnam.
21. We commit toworking together to support skills formation, including by supporting Vietnamto develop national policies and frameworks that encourage industry engagementand a responsive vocational education and training system. We also encourageinstitutional partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese vocationaleducation institutions and Vietnam’s private sector.
22. We welcome and will look for opportunities to support increased travel andtourism between our two countries. We commit to strengthening the two-way flowof young people seeking to holiday and work in Australia and Vietnam throughthe reciprocal Work and Holiday visa arrangement. We commit to continuing thetwo-way flow of students between Australia and Vietnam.
23. We acknowledge the rich contribution of the Australian Vietnamese communityand its role in boosting the strong people‑to‑people links, economic ties andengagement, which underpin our bilateral relationship. We will continue tofacilitate the important contributions made by the Vietnamese community inAustralia and the Australian community in Vietnam to our close bilateral ties.
24. Werenew our commitment to promote and protect human rights in accordance withinternational law and to strengthen and contribute to the work of the UnitedNations Human Rights Council and its mechanisms. We will continue sincere,frank and constructive conversations, including through our annual Human RightsDialogue. We will cooperate to foster inclusive societies that embrace andprovide equal opportunities and respect for the human rights of all people,without discrimination of any kind.
25. We recognise the importance of cultural collaborationin strengthening people‑to‑people links between Australia and Vietnam and willexplore opportunities to invest in cultural exchange and collaboration acrossall art forms and collecting institutions.
26. We commit to deepening our cooperation on civil service reform by promotinggood governance and regulatory reform. In this regard, were affirm our commitment to the growth of the Vietnam-Australia Centreas a platform to develop capacity building opportunities across the civilservices of Vietnam and its neighbours.
Strengthening Climate, Environment andEnergy Cooperation
27. We acknowledge the significant impacts the climate crisis is having inour region and the importance of taking urgent and ambitious climate action todeliver on the goals of the ParisAgreement, while ensuringeconomic prosperity as we transition our economies to net-zero by 2050. Werecognise the shared challenges Australia and Vietnam face in responding toclimate change. We affirm the importance of adopting an ambitious, cooperativeand proactive approach to the challenges that lie ahead. We commit to seizingthe opportunities inherent in our respective clean energy transitions tostrengthen our economies and support global decarbonisation goals. We will worktogether to support Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition that balances economicgrowth and net‑zero goals by helping to stimulate higher levels of privatesector finance and investment into Vietnam’s mitigation and adaptation efforts,developing high quality human resources and strengthening governance.
28. In support of Vietnam’s efforts to respond to the impacts of climatechange, we commit to drawing on a range of Australia’s resources, includingODA, trade and export finance, climate finance and our domestic expertise. We continue to explore opportunities for cooperation onclimate action, carbon markets and in the green economy.
29. We will deepen our collaboration on climate adaptation and resilience,climate‑resilient agriculture, biodiversity conservation, marine science forsustainable development, plastic pollution reduction and food and watersecurity, especially in the Mekong Delta, including through theMekong-Australia Partnership.
30. To promote our shared energy security in the transition, we will continueto expand collaboration on energy and resources, including through increasedtrade and investment. We also continue to develop emerging, resilient anddiverse renewable energy supply chains through the integration of technologicalsolutions that help both nations meet net‑zero goals.
31. We reaffirm our commitment to a Ministerial Dialogue on Energy and Mineralsand will explore opportunities to deepen cooperation on commodities, products,technologies and services associated with energy systems and carriers, powergeneration, mining, extractives, processing, minerals and fossil fuels,including coal, oil and gas.
Supporting Science, Technology,Innovation and Developing Digital Transformation
32. We commit to deepeningstrategic cooperation in science, technology (including new and critical emergingtechnologies), cyber and innovation. We will increase our cooperation to buildcapacity across science, innovation and technology for the sustainable andinclusive development of Vietnam’s national research and innovation system,including by supporting women in the fields of science, technology, engineeringand mathematics.
33. We will continue to work closely to foster collaboration between Australianand Vietnamese businesses, universities and research institutions viainitiatives to enhance research quality, knowledge mobility and training youngand talented scientists; promoting safe and responsible technology adoptionamong small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and improving national innovationecosystems and building capacity for the sustainable and inclusive developmentof Vietnam's national research and innovation system.
34.We will deepen cooperation on digital transition and digital inclusion,including through a Digital Economy Memorandum of Understanding, which willidentify priority areas for digital trade cooperation and include a work planfor implementation. We reaffirm our commitment to sharing experiences thatsupport Vietnam and Australia to enhance digital government transformation andaddress digital government objectives.
Reinforcing Regional and InternationalCooperation
35. We will continue to work closely bilaterally, trilaterally andmultilaterally to extend mutual support to the institutions that underpin anopen, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. We commit to our shared goal ofreinforcing and developing regional, sub-regional and internationalinstitutions to promote our common political, economic, and security interestsand address regional and global issues of concern. We will seek to encourageall in our region to pursue dialogue as the first step to build confidence,de-escalate any tensions and take positive steps to maintain an environmentthat guards against conflict.
36. We recognise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as centralto regional stability and prosperity and support ASEAN centrality and unity inthe evolving regional architecture that is open, transparent, inclusive andrules-based, anchored in international law. Wewill deepen our cooperation in ASEAN-led mechanisms and work collaboratively todevelop further the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in ameaningful, substantive and mutually beneficial manner. We reaffirm our supportfor the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo‑Pacific (AOIP) and the importance of theprinciples set out in the AOIP in shaping a peaceful, secure and prosperousregion.
37. We express our concerns on the situation in the South China Sea andreaffirm our commitment to peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, to therespect for legal and diplomatic processes and to the settlement of disputes,including those in the South China Sea, by peaceful means without resorting tothe threat or use of force, in accordance with international law, particularlythe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We reaffirmthat UNCLOS sets out the comprehensive legal framework within which allactivities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. We maintain our callthat the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea(DOC) should be implemented in its entirety and that any Code of Conduct forthe South China Sea should be effective and substantive, in accordance withinternational law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, and should not prejudice the rightsof any state under international law.
38. We acknowledge the importance of a prosperous and resilient Mekong sub‑regionand the need for regional cooperation to address shared challenges, includingclimate change, energy transition, transboundary water management and foodsecurity and to ensuring regional security. We commit to continuing ourlongstanding cooperation to support the sub-region’s integration andsustainable development, including through the Mekong-Australia Partnership andFriends of the Mekong, and supporting other Mekong-led frameworks to promote aresilient, sustainable and inclusive Mekong sub-region.
Concluded on March 7, 2024 in duplicate, in English andVietnamese, each being equally valid./.
VNA
