Welcoming and working with the delegation were Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Australia Pham Hung Tam and leaders and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.

At the meeting, Minister Ho Duc Phoc expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome of Ambassador Pham Hung Tam and the leaders and staff of the Embassy to the working delegation of the Ministry of Finance. Sharing with Ambassador Pham Hung Tam about this working trip to Australia, the Minister said that the working delegation will work with a number of government agencies; and businesses and investors in Australia to create opportunities and promote investment cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, especially in the field of financial investment.

The Minister also emphasized that after upgrading the relationship between the two countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the opportunities for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics and trade, will grow even stronger. Therefore, the Minister hopes that in their role, the Ambassador and the Embassy's staff will be an important bridge and share information with the Ministry of Finance to connect investment, financial and economic cooperation between the two countries.

At the meeting, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Australia Pham Hung Tam also informed Minister Ho Duc Phoc and the delegation about the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Australia, especially after the two countries officially became Comprehensive Strategic Partners.

Accordingly, after only 5 months, the two countries officially became Comprehensive Strategic Partners, and many economic and social activities and targets have developed.

Trade turnover in the first 5 months of 2024 has improved, increasing by 6%, with Vietnam's export turnover to Australia alone increasing by 31%; at the same time, people-to-people exchange has developed strongly, with the number of Vietnamese students in Australia currently around 33,000, ranking 5th among the total number of international students in Australia. Many activities, financial and business cooperation between partners of the two countries have also improved.

“We hope that the visit of the Minister and the delegation with the relevant agencies, as well as Australian businesses and investment funds, will open up more opportunities for economic and trade cooperation, especially attracting financial investment between the two countries. Businesses of the two countries will develop more strongly and effectively,” Ambassador Pham Hung Tam shared.

Also at the meeting, Ambassador Pham Hung Tam informed the delegation about the Embassy's operations and affirmed that the leaders and staff of the Embassy will always strive to fulfill the tasks assigned by the State and people, and be an active bridge contributing to promoting the relationship between the two countries.

Thanking the positive information about cooperation between Vietnam and Australia in recent times, the Minister said that the Ministry of Finance will continue to study solutions to promote financial cooperation between the two countries.

"We will pay attention to the issues that the Ambassador discussed, and based on the review, we will coordinate and propose to the relevant authorities to create favorable conditions for the Embassy to operate more smoothly and effectively," the Minister shared.

On the same afternoon, Minister Ho Duc Phoc and the delegation had a working session with the Australian Treasury and the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in Canberra, Australia.