At the meeting, General Secretary and President Lam expressed his pleasure at the strong, substantive and increasingly trustworthy development of the Viet Nam–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The top Vietnamese leader highly valued the two countries’ regular high-level exchanges and contacts, including his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on April 24. He looked forward to welcoming the Australian PM back to Viet Nam for a visit and to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2027.

For his part, Marles affirmed that Australia regards Viet Nam as one of its most trusted partners in the region. He praised the Southeast Asian nation’s proactive, balanced and responsible approach to regional issues, and expressed Australia’s desire to further deepen bilateral ties on the basis of trust, substance and mutual benefit.

Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving global developments, particularly impacts on energy security, supply chains and economic recovery prospects, General Secretary and President Lam welcomed recent policies introduced by the Australian Government to mitigate adverse external impacts, saying this was also an area in which the two countries could strengthen exchanges, share experiences and enhance coordination in the near future.

Marles agreed that the two sides should make better use of the complementarities between their economies and expand cooperation in areas that are significant for sustainable development and resilience of each country.

In that spirit, both sides agreed to promote breakthrough measures to realize the goal of raising bilateral trade turnover to 20 billion USD and doubling two-way investment in the time to come. They also pledged to further strengthen cooperation pillars in development, education and training, science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, while accelerating the establishment of new collaboration mechanisms in energy and minerals.

General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated Australia’s effective support for Vietnam in defense cooperation, particularly in English-language training for officers, military medical training, support for United Nations peacekeeping forces and the transport of Viet Nam’s field hospitals to South Sudan.

Marles welcomed Vietnam’s recent participation in the Kakadu multilateral naval exercise hosted by Australia, as well as the effective implementation of the Peacekeeping Partnership Agreement and other defense training activities. He also shared details of Australia’s newly announced 2026 National Defense Strategy, especially its emphasis on strengthening defense cooperation with regional countries, including Viet Nam.

The Vietnamese leader proposed that Australia continue creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese citizens, particularly pupils and students, while supporting the Vietnamese community in Australia to develop stably and contribute positively to both the host country and bilateral relations.

The Australian minister for defense highly valued the role of the Vietnamese community in Australia, describing them as an important bridge helping to strengthen mutual understanding, connectivity and friendship between the people of the two countries./.