The ceremony was chaired by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull and his spouse.
Following the welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc held talks with his Australian counterpart.
After talks, the two Prime Ministers are to witness the signing
of important bilateral cooperative agreements, including a joint statement on
establishing the Vietnam-Australia Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Australia
took place in the context of the thriving bilateral relations, especially
after the two countries set up Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and inked
the declaration on enhancing the partnership in 2015.
Two-way trade grows over 7 percent every year to reach nearly
US$ 6.5 billion in 2017, up 22.2 percent against 2016. Australia ranks 20th
among 126 countries and territories landing investment in the Southeast Asian
nation with 412 projects valued at US$ 1.8 billion. Meanwhile, Vietnam has 44
projects worth US$387.1 million in Australia.
Australia is currently among the largest non-refundable official
development assistance providers for Vietnam with over AUD 110 million in aid
every year from 2010.
Both sides have enjoyed strong cooperation in education with a
line-up of Australian scholarships granted to Vietnamese students every year.
There are some 30,000 Vietnamese students pursuing study in the country.
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Source: NDO