Western Australia greatly values Vietnam's role in its Asian Engagement Strategy

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh paid an official visit to Western Australia from July 26 to July 28 in a bid to strengthen cohesion and expand opportunities to achieve comprehensive co-operation, especially in investment and education.

During the visit, the Vietnamese diplomat spent time meeting with a number of Australian officials, as well as representatives of Western Australian businesses investing in the nation, along with those in charge of education, aviation, and mining.

During a meeting held with Ambassador Thanh, Governor of Western Australia Christopher Dawson expressed high appreciation for Vietnamese political stability and development steps in bilateral relations, whilst supporting the swift upgrade of ties to tap into the potential for co-operation between Western Australia and Vietnam.

The Governor therefore welcomed the Vietnamese delegation’s visit to Western Australia to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between both nations. He hopes to expand co-operation between the state and Vietnamese localities in areas of strength such as mining, technology, the defence industry, and education.

He was hugely appreciative of the important contributions made by the community of 30,000 people of Vietnamese origin living in the state to the cause of greater socio-economic development.

On behalf of the Western Australian government receiving the Vietnamese Ambassador, Minister Whitby affirmed that Western Australian leaders are focused on implementing the Asian Engagement Strategy for 2019 to 2030. They therefore outlined orientations for partner diversification in line with the guidelines of the federal government.

Minister Whitby went on to emphasize the potential for diverse co-operation between the two sides, especially in the fields of renewable energy, climate change adaptation, and education-training.

He also affirmed that Western Australian leaders hope to visit Vietnam this year to enhance mutually beneficial co-operative relations.

In response, Ambassador Thanh showed his delight at the numerous economic development achievements and the initial successful results of the Western Australian government in implementing its strategy.

The diplomat hailed Western Australia's policy of diversifying economic partners and expressed an interest in the State's Investment Attraction Fund.

He also emphasized that with many advantages in mining, energy, and technology industries, Western Australia still has ample room to expand co-operation with Vietnamese localities. In line with this, there is a particular focus on effectively implementing the Action Program for co-operation between Western Australia and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Leaders of Western Australia’s legislature duly support the idea of establishing a friendship parliamentarian association between Western Australia and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province as a way of enhancing exchanges and sharing between both sides’ parliamentarians.          

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia pledged to promote the training of Vietnamese judges and to accelerate the implementation of the co-operation agreement between the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, signed back in December, 2017.

Furthermore, Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas touched upon activities which support and create conditions for Vietnamese students to study and live in the state capital. The Mayor looks forward to opening a direct flight route between the city and Vietnam in order to further promote tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Most notably, representatives of Western Australia's diplomatic, trade, investment, and educational agencies all highlighted the practical co-operation achievements between the two sides. They also noted the potential for expanding and deepening the relationship moving forward, especially in the future when this state is officially set to open a trade and investment representative office in Vietnam next year.