The aircraft carrying General Secretary, State President To Lam touched down at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on the evening of 9/8, according to VNA.

Accompanying General Secretary, State President To Lam were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang, Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, and other officials.

Welcoming General Secretary, State President To Lam at the airport were representatives from the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Governor of New South Wales, Deputy Premier of New South Wales Prue Car, Australia's Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres, and diplomatic officials from both nations.

General Secretary, State President To Lam at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on 9/8. *Photo: VNA*

This marks the first visit of General Secretary, State President To Lam to Australia in his new capacity, and the first by a key Vietnamese leader since the two countries elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.

Leaders from both nations will discuss strategic directions for cooperation in technology, energy transition, and high-quality human resource training. A central feature of the visit is the TechConnect Forum, which aims to foster collaboration among governments, businesses, universities, and research institutes from both nations, working towards a shared innovation ecosystem.

Numerous important cooperation agreements are also expected to be signed at the governmental level and between research institutions and businesses.

Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations on 26/2/1973, and their relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024. Bilateral trade turnover is projected to reach 14 billion USD by 2025. Australia currently stands as Vietnam's 7th largest trading partner, while Vietnam is Australia's 10th largest.

Australia is one of the largest bilateral partners providing non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Australia has provided Vietnam with over 3 billion AUD (approximately 47 trillion VND) in total assistance.

With nearly 25,000 students, Vietnam ranks fourth among the five countries with the highest number of students studying in Australia, after China, India, and Nepal. The Vietnamese community in Australia numbers approximately 375,000 people.

Nguyen Tien