VN heads to Strategic Partnership with Australia, New Zealand

PM Dung had a busy schedule during his official visit to Australia such as meetings with Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Governor of New South Wales David Hurley and participation in the Viet Nam-Australia Business Dialogue.

At the Lowy Institute in Sydney, PM Nguyen Tan Dung shared his views on the Viet Nam-Australia relations, national development as well as emerging regional security environment.

Regarding the profound changes in Viet Nam, PM Dung said that Viet Nam has converted itself into a middle-income country from a war-ravaged one.

"We are improving the law-governed state, promoting the freedom and democracy rights of citizens and businesses; building up synchronous market economy institutions; restructuring the economy in association with transforming growth model," according to PM Dung.

The PM stressed "we believe that peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea are the common interests of countries both inside and outside the region."

Leaving Syney, the Vietnamese PM arrived in Canberra to hold talks with Australian PM Tony Abbott.

The two sides discussed and highly valued  developments in the Comprehensive Partnership, agreeing measures to promote the relations in prioritized areas, including politics, national defense and security, economics, trade, investment, communications, science, technology, agriculture, transport, education and training.

Besides bilateral cooperation, the two PMs exchange issues of international and regional concerns, assenting to closely and effectively cooperate at international forums such as the East Asia Summit, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and supporting each other at the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

They asserted the importance of ensuring marine peace, stability, security, safety and freedom in the East Sea and deal with disputes based on  international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, calling on all sides to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), restrain and prevent actions to cause tensions in the region such as compelling and using forces to change the status quo as well as agreed to establish the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The same occasion, the two sides issued a joint Declaration and signed a Declaration on strengthening the Comprehensive Partnership and other four crucial documents including the Agreement on Labor and Vacation, the Agreement on launching the Asia-Australia Cooperative Program against human trafficking, the two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on overcoming consequences of bombs and mines and maintaining peace in Viet Nam.

At Canberra, PM Dung met with Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop and President of the Senate Stephen Parry, and received representatives of the Australia – Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group and leader of the Labour Party Bill Shorten.

Leaving the capital of Australia, PM Nguyen Tan Dung paid his first official visit to New Zealand, which is regarded as a meaningful event to mark the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

In Auckland, PM Nguyen Tan Dung held talks with his New Zealand counterpart John Key, met with Governor-General Jerry Mateparae, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives David Carter and joined the Viet Nam-New Zealand Business Dialogue.

At the talks with New Zealand's PM John Key, the two sides reviewed bilateral cooperation, especially since the two countries established the comprehensive partnership in 2009, and agreed on a common vision on promoting and deepening the comprehensive partnership to elevate it to a strategic partnership in the future.

The two PMs agreed to continue delegation exchanges at all levels, diversify contact activities, promote the effectiveness of current cooperation mechanisms to realize high-level leaders' agreements and implement on schedule targets set in the 2013-2016 Action Plan.

Both sides agreed to enhance cultural and arts exchanges and tourism to improve mutual understanding, boost people-to-people exchange.

The two countries will open a direct flight to promote trade, tourism and people-to-people relations.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern and stressed the importance of maintaining regional peace and stability, calling on all sides to peacefully solve disputes at sea in accordance with international laws.

The PM's official visits are special as PM Dung and his Australian and New Zealand counterparts agreed to upgrade the relations from Comprehensive Partnerhsip to a higher level, heading to Strategic Partnership and create a framework and foundation for long-term cooperative activities in the future.