(From left): Prime MInister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Australian and New Zealand counterparts Tony Abbott and John Key, respectively (Photo: VGP)
NDO – The comprehensive partnerships between Vietnam and Australia and between Vietnam and New Zealand (NZ) have seen positive development in all fields, said Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung at an interview he granted to the press following the official visits to Australia and NZ by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung which concluded on March 20.
Q: Would you please tell us the meaning and results of the official visit by PM Nguyen Tan Dung to Australia and NZ? A: PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his spouse, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, paid an official visit to Australia from March 17 to 18 and to NZ from March 19 to 20 at the invitation of Australian PM Tony Abbott and NZ PM John Key.
This is the second official visit of PM Dung to Australia and his first official visit to NZ. The two countries have established a comprehensive partnership with Vietnam, with the aim of deepening bilateral relations for the interests of the both sides and for peace and security in the region and the world as well as creating favourable conditions for socio-economic development in Vietnam.
Despite the short visits, various activities took place. The Vietnamese PM held talks with the PMs of the two countries, met with senior leaders of both Australia and NZ including their Governor-Generals, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Governors and leaders of the opposition. He also received and held talks with large enterprises, and met with political and social organisations and Vietnamese communities in Australia and NZ.
PM Dung also delivered a speech and talked with scholars at the Lowy Institute for International Policy – one of the leading research institutes in the world and the policy advice centre for the Australian Government.
PM Dung and leaders of both Australia and NZ all agreed that the Vietnam-Australia and Vietnam-NZ comprehensive partnerships have seen positive development in all areas. To improve the efficiency and practicality of the bilateral relations, Australia and NZ have agreed to lift their relations with Vietnam to a new level towards a strategic partnership. This is an important milestone in relations between Vietnam and the two countries, creating a political and legal framework for promoting co-operation in fields of strategic significance.
In the political sphere, Vietnam, Australia and NZ agreed to increase the exchange of high-level delegations and boost co-operation between Parties, Governments, Parliaments and people to promote mutual understanding and trust.
Both the Australian PM and Governor General confirmed they will visit Vietnam soon while the PM of NZ expects to visit Vietnam in September this year. Speakers of House of Representatives of the two countries will attend the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132) Assembly to take place in Hanoi from March 28 to April 1. The two sides also agreed to enhance the efficiency of existing co-operation mechanism such as joint committees, political consultation, and dialogues on defence-security strategies among others.
Regarding economics, Australia and NZ appreciated Vietnam’s achievements in the renewal process and the increasingly significant position of Vietnam in the international arena. They acknowledged Vietnam’s economic growth rate of nearly 6% per year and new advances in social security, hunger eradication and poverty reduction amid the global economic crisis and complicated political and security developments.
Australia and NZ also praised Vietnam’s efforts in stabilising its macroeconomy and improving the business environment and international integration and expressed their optimism about the prospects of co-operation in the fields of trade, investment and tourism with Vietnam.
During the visits between leaders of Vietnam and Australia and Vietnam and NZ, the two sides reached many specific agreements to foster co-operation in agriculture, mining, science and technology, and human resource development as well as facilitate the access of Vietnamese agricultural and seafood products to both countries. This year, Australian Minister for Trade and Investment and New Zealand’s Ministers of Transport, Energy, Education and Vocational Training will visit Vietnam to implement the results of PM Dung’s visit to the two countries in specific areas.
The two countries are also keen on promoting defence and security co-operation with Vietnam including supporting Vietnam in enhancing its capacity to participate in UN peacekeeping activities, to implement law enforcement at sea, conduct submarine rescue, clear mines and bombs left by wars, and expand co-operation against transnational crime, high-tech crime and terrorism among others. NZ’s Minister of Defence is also scheduled to visit Vietnam this year.
Another area of strategic co-operation between Vietnam and the two countries is education, training and exchanges.
Among more than 100,000 Vietnamese students abroad, more than 30,000 are studying in Australia and more than 2,000 in NZ. Both Australia and NZ committed to maintain scholarships for Vietnamese students and assist Vietnam in training high quality human resources through various means including higher education, general education and vocational training. Nearly 300,000 Vietnamese are living in Australia and about 6,000 Vietnamese are living in NZ.
During the talks between Vietnam and the two countries, PM Dung asked that leaders of the two countries create favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to live and work, contributing to the development of their countries and connecting Vietnam with the two countries.
The governments of Australia and NZ also appreciated the positive roles of Overseas Vietnamese in their countries and committed to support them to integrate and make more contributions to development of each country.
NZ pledged to co-ordinate with Vietnam in implementing the Working Holiday Programme, which has helped bring Vietnamese qualified workers to work in the country. The two sides have also agreed to open a direct air route by 2017.
During PM Dung’s visits, Vietnam and NZ not only issued a joint statement but also signed an agreement on food safety and animal and plant quarantine and a protocol amending their air services agreement.
In Australia, in addition to the joint statement and a Declaration on Enhancing the Australia–Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, a suite of memorandums of understanding were also signed between the two sides on unexploded ordnance removal, joining the United Nations peace-keeping activities, a new working holiday visa arrangement and preventing human trafficking.
As part of the visits, members of the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation worked with leaders of relevant agencies in Australia and NZ while Vietnamese businesses were provided chances to explore markets, seek trade opportunities, and sign agreements with Australian and NZ colleagues.
Apart from bilateral issues, Vietnam and Australia also agreed to closely coordinate at regional and international forums, and support each other in the negotiation and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreements.
Leaders of the two countries shared a common view on the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea and peacefully settling sea disputes in compliance with international law, including the UNCLOS 1982. The Australian side called on all parties to fully implement the DOC and refrain from actions that complicate the regional situation, including coercive measures or use of force to unilaterally alter the status quo in the East Sea. Both sides also underlined the urgency of building a COC.
PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visits to Australia and NZ wrapped up successfully with contributing to increasing mutual understandings and opening new chapters in the robust development of friendship and comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the two countries.
Q: Based on the results of the visits, what do you think of the co-operative prospects between Vietnam and Australia and NZ in the time to come? A: Joint statements on lifting Vietnam-Australia and Vietnam-NZ relations to a new height, agreements signed between Vietnam and the two countries as mentioned above, as well as strong consensus between the leaders have set a crucial political foundation and legal frame to boost co-operation between the Vietnamese Communist Party, Government and National Assembly and political parties, Governments and Parliaments of Australia and NZ as well as the relations of many circles such as businesses, scholars and citizen’s of all three countries.
There are also other important factors contributing to co-operation prospects between Vietnam and the two countries. First of all, Vietnam and the two nations have shared views on many important issues — we can support each other and co-operate effectively in various realms.
Australia and NZ are developed economies, the former being the world’s 12th largest economy. Both are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and have advanced education systems. They are keen to make further positive contributions in the Asia-Pacific region and in the international arena at large.
For its part, Vietnam is valued as a country successful in implementing the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, perfecting its socialist-oriented market economy and being active in international integration. Vietnam has not only high demands but also significant potential for co-operation, such as expanding education and training to develop human resources, calling on investment and advice from Australia and NZ in developing service sectors, and developing mining technology, communications, agriculture and environmental protection. Vietnam also has huge potential in exporting agricultural and aquatic products to Australia and NZ.
The two countries have favourable conditions for making investments and doing business in Vietnam’s dynamic and developing market, which has a population of more than 90 million.
Vietnam has also been an active member of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 77 (G77), the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Australia and NZ are two partners keen to strengthen ties through institutions within the framework of ASEAN, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Based on these similarities, Vietnam and the two countries have agreed to establish action plans for a new stage of co-operation.
Furthermore, Australia and NZ have co-operated with Vietnam in many fields for years, and have achieved positive results that can be seen through the regular exchanges of high-ranking delegation, ministries and sectors. The two countries have invested in hundreds of projects in Vietnam.
Through co-operation, political circles, businesses and people our countries have gained an understanding of the working manner and culture of each other. The Vietnamese community and students in the two countries have acted as bridges linking Vietnam and the two countries.
As PM Dung emphasised during his talks with high-ranking leaders of Australia and NZ, lifting relations between Vietnam and the two nations to a new height is in line with the interest of the peoples, as well as the common trend and interest of the region and the world for peace, co-operation, friendship, prosperity and development.
Đăng ký: VietNam News