Vietnam and Australia on June 26 inked an agreement on scientificand technological cooperation, marking a new step forward in bilateralcooperation in this field.

Signatories to th eagreement were Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology NguyenQuan and Australia ’s Science and Research Minister DonFarrell.

Addressing the signing ceremony inCanberra city, Minister Quan made a brief review of Vietnam ’srecent achievements in the field of science and technology.

He stressed that t he Vietnamese Government has adopted the NationalStrategy for Scientific and Technological Development until 2020, withthe goal of developing an advanced scientific and technologicalfoundation for the country as compared with its ASEAN peers .

For his part, Farrell affirmed the signing of the agreement is animportant step for Australia in a century of Asia , contributing toreinforcing Vietnam-Australia bilateral ties.

Hesaid issues of the two countries’ common concern are climate changeimpacts, suitable adapting solutions, and low-carbon economicdevelopment.

Following the signing ceremony,Minister Quan said Vietnam hopes to tap the partner’s strength inthe fields of agriculture, health care, mineral exploitation, materialtechnology, and education and training.

Thecooperation in science and technology between Vietnam and Australiawas established in 1992 on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding.

During Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit toAustralia in 2008, the two sides agreed to work to upgrade the MoU toa governmental level agreement.

The agreement was finally signed after four rounds of talks and eight drafts.-VNA