Sydney (VNA) – Politburo member andSecretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan met withAustralian leaders in Canberra on December 3, voicing his hope that his citywill become a strategic partner of Australia in terms of education andinnovation.

The meetings with Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison, Speaker of the House of Representative Tony Smith and Ministerfor Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham were part of Nhan’s workingvisit to Australia at the invitation of the country’s Government.

At the events, the HCM City official highlyvalued the two countries’ flourishing relations in multiple spheres, includingtrade, investment, education, agriculture, defence and development assistance,especially since their ties were lifted to the strategic partnership in 2018.

He said he believes amidst that favourablecontext and opportunities generated by international free trade agreements,relations between Vietnam, including HCM City, and Australia will develop morestrongly in the coming time, noting that bilateral cooperation not onlybenefits both countries but also holds a strategic significance to peace,stability and prosperity in Asia-Pacific.

Vietnam hopes that the two sides will soon buildan action plan for implementing the strategic partnership for 2020 – 2030 anddesign a strategy for enhanced economic cooperation so as to be among the top10 trade partners of each other and double bilateral investment, Nhan said.

He affirmed that Vietnam always createsfavourable conditions for Australian businesses to invest in such fields ashi-tech agriculture, infrastructure, higher education, vocational training,information technology and Industry 4.0 technology.

On December 4, Nhan had meetings in Melbournecity with Governor Linda Marion Dessau and Premier Daniel Andrews of Victoriastate.

At the sessions, he welcomed the state’s effortsto strengthen connections with HCM City as seen through the Governor’s visit tothe city in October and the intention to set up a Victoria chamber of commerceand investment in the southern hub.

The official pledged to provide the bestpossible conditions for the establishment and operations of this chamber. Healso expressed his hope for the opening of a similar chamber of HCM City inVictoria.

The two localities boast huge cooperationpotential such as in innovation, education, technology and trade, the officialnoted, calling on Victoria to invest in, transfer technology to and shareexperience with HCM City in urban planning, public transport, environmentalimprovement, water management, innovation and startup.

As Victoria also accommodates a big number ofVietnamese people, Nhan asked the state’s authorities to create conditions fortheir development, describing the community as a useful bridge for cooperationbetween the two countries and the two localities.

Alsoon December 4, Nhan had a working session with the RMIT University, duringwhich he said the city is boosting programmes on raising the quality of thehuman resources, as well as building a smart city. In the time to come, thesouthern hub will need a huge contingent of workers, both Vietnamese andforeign, to work at research and application centres, the official said, askingthe education institution to train personnel in the fields the city needs.

Welcomingthe proposal, representatives of the RMIT affirmed they will join hands incarrying out those projects.

Thesame day, Nhan and his delegation visited the William Angliss Academy whichspecialises on training experts in the fields of hotel management, tourism andfood. The official expressed his hope for the municipal authorities to learnexperiences, expertise and skills from the academy, and witnessed the signingof a comprehensive cooperation document between the city-based Van LangUniversity and the academy in high-end tourism training./.