Courtesy call of Deputy Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam

Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He ((fifth from left) and Deputy Ambassador Mark Tattersall (fourth from left) taking a group photo with other delegates

On the afternoon of 07 August 2023, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc He, Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee hosted a courtesy call with Mr. Mark Tattersall, Deputy Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam.

At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc He expressed his delight to welcome Mr. Mark Tattersall and the delegation and said that in the past years, Can Tho City has continuously received support from the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City through its direct assistance program in the fields of clean water for rural areas and building rural bridges. Besides, there are a lot of students, lecturers, and officials from Can Tho City receiving scholarships to study in Australia. These programs and projects have brought practical results, contributing to the development of the city's socio-economic development.

In addition, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia this year, Can Tho City is also working closely with the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the organization of several activities in cultural and culinary exchanges.

Regarding trade and investment, Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc He informed the Australian diplomat that in the first 6 months of 2023, the city's export turnover of goods to the Australian market reached 17.5 million USD; main export items are rice, aquatic products, garments, agricultural products and processed agricultural products. The import turnover was 8.51 million USD, the main imported item was wheat.

Vice Chairman Nguyen emphasized the major sectors for collaboration with Australian partners in the upcoming time, namely: education and training, water management in the context of climate change, science-technology, and hi-tech agriculture.

In response, Mr. Mark Tattersall sincerely thanked the city leaders for the hospitality and introduced an overview of Australia's cooperation relationship with Vietnam in general and the Mekong Delta in particular in the field of economic development cooperation and climate change. Together with the Deputy Ambassador to visit the Mekong Delta this time, there were members of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which had different projects and programs in innovation and agricultural research with Mekong Delta cities and provinces. The Deputy Ambassador hoped that this visit would contribute to consolidating and further developing the cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Australia in the coming time. He also informed the City leader of the potential programs from Australian government to support the Mekong Delta and Can Tho City to adapt to climate change.

During his visit to the Mekong Delta this time, the Australian Deputy Ambassador and his team members will also work with Can Tho University, Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, An Giang University, some rice and catfish farms in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces.