Australia to provide AUD 100 million development to Viet Nam

On June 29, at the Government Office, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung received Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Gillian Bird.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung conveyed his appreciation to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Ambassador for their congratulatory letter following his election by the 16th National Assembly to his new position. He highly valued the Ambassador's and the Australian Embassy's positive contributions to advancing the Viet Nam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in recent years, and expressed confidence that the Ambassador would continue to achieve even greater success and make further substantive contributions to the continued growth of bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Viet Nam consistently regards Australia as a trusted friend and a Comprehensive Strategic Partner with immense potential, an increasingly important role and standing in the region, and many shared strategic interests. He also expressed satisfaction that all six priority areas under the 2024-2027 Action Plan for Implementing the Viet Nam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership are progressing on schedule, with approximately 96% of planned activities substantially completed to date.

Emphasizing the significant potential for cooperation across a wide range of sectors, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung called on both sides to adopt breakthrough measures to realize the shared goals of increasing bilateral trade to USD 20 billion and doubling two-way investment in the coming years. He also urged Australia to continue opening its market to Vietnamese goods, particularly agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, while ensuring a stable supply of fuel.

The Prime Minister stressed that Viet Nam remains committed to providing a favorable environment for foreign businesses, including Australian enterprises, to invest and operate over the long term. He affirmed that the Government would continue improving the legal and regulatory framework to facilitate investment, while also calling on Australia to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese investment projects in Australia.

Expressing her honor at being received by the Prime Minister, Australian Ambassador Gillian Bird congratulated Viet Nam on its recent socio-economic development achievements. She emphasized that Australia remains a committed partner, standing alongside and supporting Viet Nam in implementing reforms to achieve its development goals.

In agreement with the Prime Minister’s orientations, Ambassador Gillian Bird affirmed that she would continue to closely coordinate with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities to further promote bilateral cooperation across all fields. This includes thorough preparations for upcoming high-level exchanges, fostering Australian investment in Viet Nam in line with Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, and continuing support for training and capacity-building for Vietnamese officials and civil servants.

On this occasion, Ambassador Gillian Bird also announced that Australia will provide AUD 100 million in development assistance to Viet Nam in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, focusing on science and technology development, skills and human resource development, and climate change response.

To further strengthen political trust between the two countries, the Prime Minister proposed that both sides prepare well for upcoming high-level exchanges, and expressed the hope to welcome the Australian Prime Minister back to Viet Nam and to the APEC 2027 Leaders’ Meeting. He also suggested that both countries maintain regular bilateral cooperation mechanisms across various fields.

Highlighting the continued untapped potential for cooperation, the Prime Minister urged both sides to implement breakthrough measures to realize the target of raising bilateral trade to USD 20 billion and doubling two-way investment in the coming period. He called on Australia to continue to open its market to Vietnamese goods, particularly agricultural and aquatic products, to ensure a stable supply of fuel, and to reduce trade barriers, including anti-dumping investigations.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Viet Nam always creates favorable conditions for foreign enterprises, including Australian businesses, to invest in and operate long-term in the country, and will continue to improve the legal and institutional framework, particularly through the implementation of the Politburo’s resolution on developing a foreign-invested economy. He also requested Australia to facilitate investment projects by Vietnamese enterprises in Australia.