“In trade and investment, Australia and Vietnam should encourage our respective businesspeople to be more proactive in exploiting the opportunities offered by the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Looking to the future, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will create further opportunities for our respective enterprises and consumers” said H.E Hugh Borrowman, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam in an interview with the Vietnam Business Forum. Nguyen Mai reports.
Could you please tell us the milestones and achievements in the diplomatic and trade relations between Vietnam and Australia in recent years?
The relationship has come a long way since it was formally established on 26 February 1973. In September 2009, Australia and Vietnam gave formal recognition to the depth and breadth of the relationship by signing a Comprehensive Partnership agreement in the presence of our respective leaders. In October 2012, the Australian Prime Minister released a government White Paper entitled Australia in the Asian Century, which acknowledged Vietnam as one of Australia’s most important partners in the region.
The strength of the relationship can be measured in a number of ways. One is the level of trade between the two countries, which contributes materially to our mutual prosperity. In 2011-2012, two-way trade was worth more than AUD6.5 billion, having grown at an average of 10 per cent a year over the last decade. Vietnam is Australia's fastest growing trading partner in ASEAN. Australia is currently Vietnam’s top source of wheat imports and the top destination for Vietnam’s crude oil exports. As Vietnam’s economy continues to grow, there is much room for our trade to increase.
Australia is also a significant investor in Vietnam. Investors include two major Australian banks and an Australian university.
Australia makes a key contribution to Vietnam’s development by helping to educate young Vietnamese to become the nation’s future leaders and professionals. Australia is the first-choice destination for Vietnamese studying abroad. Currently, 20,000 Vietnamese are studying in Australia. Several thousand more are studying Australian courses in Vietnam. In addition, Australia is the biggest provider of government scholarships to Vietnam.
Australia helps Vietnam to achieve its national development goals through the aid program in other ways as well. Australia’s total aid commitment to Vietnam in 2012-2013 is over AUD 150 million, making Vietnam our fifth largest aid recipient globally and second largest in the region. Our aid program is focused on building Vietnamese skills and saving lives, strengthening Vietnam’s institutions and expanding infrastructure. Australia’s support for the Cao Lanh Bridge project across the lower Mekong River, following our successful construction of the My Thuan Bridge in 2000, will help improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of Vietnamese living in the delta.
Exchanges of high-level visits provide a further acknowledgment of the importance the two countries attach to the relationship. In the past few years, Australia’s Governor-General (Head of State) and Prime Minister have visited Vietnam, along with a number of senior Ministers. In the same period, Vietnam’s General Secretary, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and several senior Ministers have visited Australia. Further exchanges of high-level visits are expected in the near future.
In 2013, Vietnam and Australia are celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations, how has the Embassy prepared for this special event?
The Embassy has been preparing over the past year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of our relationship in 2013, a major milestone. We set up an Australia in Vietnam Facebook page to share information about the anniversary and Australia’s role in Vietnam more broadly. In October, the Embassy launched a competition to select an official logo for the anniversary. We announced the winning design on 22 January. In early December, Pat Farmer, an Australian endurance runner and former Parliamentary Secretary, began a 3000 kilometre run through Vietnam to kick off the year of commemorative activity. With the support of the Australian Government and the generosity of Australian and Vietnamese sponsors, the Embassy has organised an exciting program throughout 2013 to showcase Australian culture, creativity and scientific know-how to Vietnamese audiences in the north, centre and south. Major events will include a tour by Australia’s world-renowned Bangarra Dance Theatre and a major Questacon science exhibition.
What should Vietnam and Australia do to strengthen the bilateral relationship?
The relationship is comprehensive, as the 2009 Comprehensive Partnership attests. To take the relationship to an even higher level, Australia and Vietnam should focus efforts particularly in areas of the relationship where complementarities are greatest. One such area is energy. Vietnam’s energy needs are growing in tandem with the continued expansion of its economy. Australia has the capability to be a dependable supplier to match Vietnam’s energy requirements. Other areas of high complementarity include education, mining and climate change adaptation.
In trade and investment, Australia and Vietnam should encourage our respective businesspeople to be more proactive in exploiting the opportunities offered by the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Looking to the future, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will create further opportunities for our respective enterprises and consumers.
We should also work hard to expand the ‘bridge of opportunity’ by increasing all-important people-to-people links. On the Australian side, the Government has introduced a program, following the release of its Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, to encourage Australians to study at Asian universities, matching the large number of Asian students, including Vietnamese studying in Australia. Vietnamese universities should be a part of this program.
In the near future, what does Australia plan to do to promote investment and trade relations with Vietnam?
The Australian Government’s Asian Century White Paper advocates Australia’s deeper integration with the economies of Asia, including Vietnam. To that end, the Australian Government’s trade promotion arm, Austrade, organises visits by Australian trade and investment delegations to Vietnam. A number of such visits are planned for this year. At the same time, Austrade helps Vietnam to organise visits to Australia by Vietnamese trade delegations. In addition, the two governments meet regularly at ministerial under the umbrella of the Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee (JTECC) to identify further prospects in the trade and investment partnership. The next JTECC is due to be held in Australia this year.
It must be said, though, that the key to improving investment and trade with other countries, not just Australia, lies mainly with Vietnam. For example, reform of the banking system and state-owned enterprises – which is on the government’s agenda – will do much to make Vietnam a more attractive investment destination.
Would you please tell us something about the country, people and some customs of Australia?
Australia is the world’s largest island and smallest continent, with a population a little over one quarter the size of Vietnam’s. Added to the Indigenous population are large numbers of immigrants from every country on earth. Australia’s Vietnamese community is large (around 300,000) and vibrant and acts as a bridge to draw the two countries together.
Thank you very much!
Vietnamese
