NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (standing) addresses the Vietnam-Australia economic cooperation forum. Photo: VNA

Attending a Vietnam-Australia economic cooperation forum on December 2 afternoon (local time), National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue was welcomed by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and Victoria's Commissioner to Southeast Asia Rebecca Hall, VNA reported Saturday.

Apart from agricultural cooperation, Hall said Australian enterprises are interested in various fields in Vietnam such as health care, maternal and baby care, and preschool education in Vietnam.

As of November 2022, Vietnam attracted 36,109 projects worth USD 437.52 billion from 141 countries and territories, heard the forum.

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh called for Australia’s increased investment in Vietnam in workforce training, digital transformation and hi-tech agriculture.

They said Vietnam also encourages its firms to expand operations in Australia in line with the two countries’ laws.

Khanh said the Vietnamese Government is offering incentives in the spheres of agriculture, education and logistics, especially amid the fourth industrial revolution.

Hue hoped that more Australian enterprises will come to Vietnam to seek business opportunities. The two governments and legislatures will create favourable frameworks, policies and mechanisms to support businesses, he asserted.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (centre) receives CEO of Asia Society Australia Philipp Ivanov. Photo: VNA

Receiving CEO of Asia Society Australia Philipp Ivanov and three businesspeople joining the Vietnam-Australia Business Champions Initiative in Melbourne in the afternoon of December 2, Hue expressed his readiness to listen to feedback from entrepreneurs and business associations to create the best business environment.

He suggested holding more trips to Vietnam for businesspeople to learn about the business environment and cooperation opportunities under the Initiative.

Stressing that Vietnam is attractive to foreign investors, not just for Australia, the businesspeople vowed to do better to encourage more investment in the country and offer practical recommendations to the two governments to boost bilateral ties.

In a reception for Treasurer of Victoria Tim Pallas and representatives of Linfox logistics provider on December 3, the top Vietnamese leader hailed Victoria for opening a trade and investment office in Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to reinforcing economic-trade-investment ties between the two localities and the two countries as well.

Speaking highly of Linfox’s investment in aviation logistics services in Vietnam, Hue wished that Linfox would enhance workforce training and cooperate in a direct flight service linking Vietnam and Victoria state.

Receiving Callum Fraser, founder of Elenberg Fraser and Phil Burns, President of Sinclair Brook on the same day, Hue highlighted Vietnam’s potential in real estate, tourism, entertainment, services and information technology.

With their strengths in design consultancy and real estate management, he asked them to partner with Vietnam in building smart cities.

The Australian executives hoped to receive further support to learn about opportunities and seek partners in Vietnam.

NA Chairman Hue and delegates visit Swinburne University where he worked with its leaders. Photo: VNA

Before leaving Melbourne for his official visit to New Zealand, Hue visited Swinburne University where he worked with its leaders and talked with Vietnamese students who are studying and conducting research here.

Chairman Hue spent time talking and listening to the opinions of Vietnamese students studying at the university. The representatives of the students sincerely thanked the NA Chairman for taking the time to meet, discuss and inspire them.

NA Chairman Hue answered students' questions about skills, learning experiences, integration with a new environment.

Chairman Hue had attended the Vietnam-Australia Education Cooperation Forum in Melbourne on December 2.

Both Hue and Senator Tim Ayres, who is Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing of Australia, agreed that education and training cooperation has always been a pillar and a "bright spot" in the two country’s relations.

In 1974 – just one year after the two set up their diplomatic ties, Australia granted the first scholarships to Vietnamese students, and since then more than 80,000 Vietnamese students have completed their study here.

With around 30,000 students currently studying in Australia, Vietnam ranks fourth in terms of the number of students in the country.

Appreciating Vietnam’s renewal process and its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045, Tim Ayres emphasised that this target can be achieved only with highly skilled workers, and cooperation in education and training will play an important role.

Therefore, Australian higher education institutions are also looking to Vietnam to seek new opportunities and expand collaboration with the Vietnamese workforce, not only encouraging Vietnamese students to study in Australia, but also vice versa, to learn from each other's experiences, he added.

The Vietnamese NA Chairman said that bilateral cooperation in education and training helps not only develop human resources to serve rapid and sustainable economic development of each country, but also connect the two cultures and foster the bilateral friendship.

He stressed the need to increase the number of joint training programmes between Vietnamese higher education institutions and high-ranked ones of Australia; speed up the exchange of students and lecturers as well as promoting research cooperation between Australian and Vietnamese universities; and encourage more prestigious Australian universities to open branches in the Southeast Asian country.

He expressed his belief that this forum will open up a new stage for bilateral education cooperation, thus contributing to enhancing the Vietnam-Australia strategic partnership.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew John Lech Goledzinowski witness the exchange of 12 documents and memoranda of understanding on cooperation in education and training between the two countries’ universities. Photo: VNA

On this occasion, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew John Lech Goledzinowski witnessed the exchange of 12 documents and memoranda of understanding on cooperation in education and training between the two countries’ universities.

The RMIT University Council has approved to significantly increase its existing investment in RMIT University Vietnam in 2023, Alec Cameron, President and Vice-Chancellor, and leaders of RMIT University informed the Vietnam NA Chairman, adding that this is the largest investment of RMIT in an overseas institution with the aim of developing RMIT Vietnam into a major international education hub in the region.

Chairman Hue received Prof. Cameron on December 2 as part of his official visit to Australia.

RMIT University is the first international university licenced by the Vietnamese Government to operate in the Southeast Asian country. About 17,000 students have graduated from RMIT University Vietnam and in the last five years nearly 3,000 Vietnamese students have graduated from the education establishment in Melbourne.

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