National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ had talks with Australian Minister of Education Jason Clare on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

CANBERRA — National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ had meetings with Australian Minister of Education Jason Clare, and leaders of the opposition in the House of Representatives and the Senate Peter Dutton and Simon Birmingham on Thursday, as part of the activities in his ongoing official visit to the nation.

Meeting the Australian minister, Huệ underlined the importance of education and training cooperation in the Việt Nam – Australia relations, expressing his hope that the Australian side will share experience in university autonomy and governance, business-university connection, entrepreneurship and innovation.

With more than 30,000 Vietnamese students in Australia, education cooperation not only contributes to Việt Nam’s human resources development and Australia's economy, but also helps promote cultural connection and friendship between the two nations, he said. 

NA Chairman Huệ suggested the Australian side pay attention to promoting bilateral education and training cooperation in various forms, provide more scholarships to Vietnamese students, and organise forums for enhancing connectivity among Vietnamese and Australian universities and educational institutions. 

Clare said he is looking forward to a visit to Việt Nam in 2023 to discuss education cooperation, especially in general and higher education, and student exchange between the two countries. 

He expressed his trust in great cooperation opportunities in education and training between the two countries.

The two sides held that the Việt Nam - Australia Education Cooperation Forum on the occasion of the Vietnamese NA’s visit to Australia is expected to further boost the bilateral education cooperation, especially higher education.

Meeting Dutton and Birmingham, NA Chairman reaffirmed Việt Nam’s consistent policy of attaching great importance to comprehensive relations with Australia at all levels and channels.

He expressed his delight that Australian political parties all support strengthening ties with Việt Nam for the sake of the two peoples, and for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The Australian parliamentary leaders affirmed that their country always attaches great importance to strengthening relations with Việt Nam, and support to lift the bilateral relations to a new height. 

They agreed to coordinate with Việt Nam’s partner agencies to boost cooperation in specific fields, including the exchange of delegations and expanding cooperation in various forms between the Communist Party of Việt Nam and Australian political parties, promoting the implementation of documents the two sides have signed, and enhancing cooperation in response to climate change, green growth, energy transformation, digital transformation, and digital economy. 

The two sides also discussed international issues and emphasised the central role of ASEAN. They reaffirmed that disputes, including those in the South China Sea, should be resolved by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS). 

NA Chairman Huệ took the occasion to invite Dutton and Birmingham to visit Việt Nam as soon as possible. — VNS