National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan had a farewell meeting in Hanoi on May 24 with the outgoing Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Hugh Borrowman.

The Vietnamese NA head thanked and appreciated the Australian diplomat for his contributions to bilateral cooperation during his post in Vietnam, saying that such contributions had helped deepen the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

She expressed satisfaction that the political relations between the two countries had developed well while ties in the economy, trade and investment, education and training had become key fields of cooperation. Australia is among the top trading partners and investors in Vietnam with trade turnover growth of 10 percent per year, reaching around 5 billion USD in 2015.

Ngan also thanked Australia’s help and support through ODA projects including the Cao Lanh and My Thuan bridges, saying that such projects represented the friendship between the two countries.

In response, the Australian Ambassador praised the Vietnamese community in Australia for their contributions in the country. Expressing his pleasure at the good relationship between the two countries as well as between the Australian Parliament and the National Assembly of Vietnam, the Ambassador said that the prospects for strengthening relations between the two countries were still wide open.

In the near future, Australia would continue to be an important partner of Vietnam in programmes of development cooperation. For the legislative cooperation, the two sides would continue to implement the agreement, focusing on cooperation in matters relating to gender equality and female empowerment, he said.

VNA