Vietnam, Australia foster Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and Australian Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Jan Adams have agreed to further deepen the economic cooperation pillar and work toward the early realisation of the goal of raising bilateral trade turnover to 20 billion USD.

At their meeting in Singapore on May 30 on the occasion of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Trung noted with pleasure the positive and substantive development of the Vietnam–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including effective cooperation between the two foreign ministries both bilaterally and at regional and international forums.

He proposed the two sides continue to closely coordinate preparations for high-level exchanges and engagements to further strengthen political trust, accelerate the implementation of commitments and agreements, and promote cooperation in the Mekong sub-region. He also expressed hope that Australian leaders would attend the third ASEAN Future Forum, scheduled to take place in Vietnam on June 9–10.

For her part, Adams congratulated Vietnam on the significant achievements it has made in recent years. She also praised General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam’s keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, expressing particular agreement with Vietnam’s call for strengthening preventive diplomacy capacity in the region.

She affirmed that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to support Vietnam in achieving its development goals. Adams also voiced support for Vietnam’s chairmanship of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2026 and its hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2027.

Adams expressed hope that Trung would arrange a visit to Australia and co-chair the 8th foreign ministers’ meeting in the time ahead. She also praised the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its role in coordinating and advancing the recent “Meet Australia” event in Ho Chi Minh City, which helped strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides welcomed the on-schedule implementation of the Action Plan for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2024–2027 across various areas of cooperation.

They also agreed to expand collaboration in technology, strategic minerals, digital economy and other areas of mutual interest, while continuing to coordinate closely and support each other at regional and international forums. The two sides affirmed their commitment to maintaining ASEAN’s centrality and contributing to the promotion of dialogue, cooperation, peace, stability and development. /.