Lines said that NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will become the first guest of the new-tenure parliament of Australia, describing it as a reflection of the strong relationship between Australia and Vietnam.
She expressed delight that the Vietnamese top legislator’s visit will have a strong focus on education, as Vietnam is a priority partner of Australia in this field.
The visit is continuing a high tempo of the high-level visits between Australia and Vietnam, she said. The Prime Ministers of the two countries had a meeting on the sidelines of the recent East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh. Australia’s Deputy PM and Minister for Defence visited Hanoi this month, while the Foreign Minister of Australia met her Vietnamese counterpart in Canberra in September for the annual Foreign Minister’s Meeting.
Lines noted that over the past nearly 50 years, the two countries have shared growing relations, especially since they lifted up their ties to a strategic partnership in 2018. The two sides have worked closely in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and speeding up post-pandemic economic recovery through the strengthening of trade and investment cooperation within the Australia – Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy.
She held that parliament exchange has been an important element of the bilateral relations.
The Vietnam Parliamentary Friends Group has one of the largest memberships in the Australian Parliaments with 57, she noted, adding that this demonstrates the keen interest of the Australian parliament has in understanding Vietnam, working closer with the country, and shows the strength of the overarching bilateral relationship.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has also focused on fostering the connections between the two peoples, she said, noting that Vietnamese is currently one of the most spoken language in Australia.
Regarding the role of the potential cooperation areas of the two parliaments in the coming time and the role of the Australia-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group in the promotion of bilateral ties, Lines said that one of the major tasks of the Group is to invite speakers and experts from Vietnam to discuss issues of shared concern such as the joint organisation of Vietnamese cultural activities in Australia and academic exchanges, aiming to give Australian parliamentarians a better understanding of the nation, people, culture and tradition of Vietnam.
At a hope to increase the diversity and representation in the Australian parliament, Australia hopes for more engagement from the Vietnamese community in the country, she said.
The Australian Senate leader said that her country is keen on expanding cooperation between the two parliaments to economy and people’s diplomacy. To this end, Australia has worked with the Vietnamese NA in technical support projects such as assisting the NA Economic Committee to draft an anti-money laundry law.
In the time to come, the Australian side is willing to work with the Vietnamese NA in the fields of training through the Australia-Vietnam Centre, she said.
The official said through the Vietnamese NA Chairman’s visit, Australia hopes to listen to new ideas and proposals from Vietnam in further enhancing the cooperation between the two countries in general and the two parliaments in particular to respond to common challenges together.
