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President Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Australian Ambassador Andrew John Lech Goledzinowski. (Photo: VNA) |
In an over-three-minute video clip sent to the press on the occasion, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper said his first year as an ambassador has been hectic, but together we have achieved great things in 2022. He highlighted many wonderful achievements in bilateral relations, including high-level meetings between Vietnamese and US leaders such as those within Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's trip to the US in May 2022 and the bilateral cooperation against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Knapper mentioned the sides’ people-to-people exchanges, including US volunteers of the Peace Corp coming to Vietnam to teach English. With regard to educational cooperation, he said Vietnam currently ranked fifth among international student communities studying in the US. The US will also continue its efforts to provide security assistance to Vietnam, said the ambassador, adding that last year saw the US training nearly 2,000 Vietnamese law enforcement and justice experts, and completing the construction of two training facilities, including one for fishery activities monitoring.
According to him, another notable point in the bilateral relationship was collaboration on climate change, typically a US$36 million project to help accelerate Vietnam's efforts for energy transition and net zero by 2050. The amazing results of cooperation across various fields are testament to the fact that both sides are working strategically together to solve the most pressing issues, Knapper said, noting that he is looking forward to new gains that the sides will achieve together in 2023. Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya is optimistic about cooperation between the two countries this year, especially in the economic field. According to the diplomat, flourishing economic collaboration between the countries has been promoted and strengthened with efforts from both sides towards a milestone of $15 billion in two-way annual trade turnover. With their strengths, Vietnam and India absolutely have many opportunities to open up the possibility of effective trade ties in the coming time, serving as a solid basis for lifting their comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights. The ambassador also expressed his hope that next year, Vietnamese and Indian senior leaders will have high-level exchanges and interactions to further strengthen joint works, especially in the fields of infrastructure development, and digital transformation. Therefore, more businesses of the sides will cooperate, and more extensive commitments will be made in all fields, bringing mutual growth achievements to both countries.
Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew John Lech Goledznowski, for his part, said that Vietnam is a dynamic nation, full of optimism, and one of the fastest growing countries in the region. He expressed his wish to continue building and developing the Vietnam-Australia cooperation relationship, especially in the context that the two will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2023.
He said the past five decades have seen close people-to-people exchanges, and increasingly developed political, strategic, and economic collaboration between the nations, which share many similarities and mutual trust. Australia wishes to work with Vietnam to maintain stability in the region, contributing to ensuring order and sovereignty of each country based on international law, he affirmed. He said he wants to give boost to their mutual trust, and stressed the three promising areas for bilateral engagements, namely economy, education and innovation, and strategic cooperation and security issues.
