Hanoi (VNA) - Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue
held phone talks with the Speaker of Australia’s House of Representatives Tony Smith on
June 7 to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries in general
and the relationship between the two parliaments in particular.
Both sides affirmed that the strategic
partnership is developing in a more reliable, practical, and deeper manner. Amid
the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two have maintained
regular exchanges and meetings, reflected through a phone call between Prime
Ministers Pham Minh Chinh and Scott Morrison and the signing of an Action
Programme to implement the Strategic Partnership for the 2020-2023 period.
Bilateral trade turnover reached 8.3 billion
USD in 2020, up 5 percent year-on-year. Australia is still supporting Vietnam
in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, and has increased its investment in the country in
the fields of agriculture, infrastructure, and education.
Assessing Australia as a power that plays an
increasingly important role in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, Hue
suggested the two sides continue to maintain exchanges and meetings at all
levels; intensify economic and trade cooperation; strive to quickly double current
two-way trade; promote cooperation in defence, military medicine, cyber-security,
and science and technology; extend the duration of stay and reduce visa costs
for Vietnamese citizens; support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines; and
transfer vaccine production technology to difficult countries, including
Vietnam.
He invited Smith to pay an official visit to
Vietnam shortly, and asked him to create the conditions needed for the two
countries’ parliamentarian groups to exchange experience in supervising
important issues and improve the legislative role in developing
bilateral relations.
Phone talks between NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of Australia’s House of Representatives Tony Smith (Photo: VNA)
Smith agreed with Hue’s proposals, revealing
that Australia has committed to providing Vietnam with 40 million AUD (30.9 million
USD) to access COVID-19 vaccines.
He expressed his wish to visit Vietnam as soon as
the two countries open their borders.
The two leaders also discussed regional and
international issues of mutual concern. Regarding the East Sea issue, they affirmed
their consistent stance of maintaining peace, stability, navigation and
aviation security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, as well as peacefully settling
disputes on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982)./.