Ho Chi Minh City wants to enhance cooperation with Australia in the fields of education, hi-tech agriculture, start-up ecosystem development, and smart urban building.
Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) welcomes Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove (Source: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City wants to enhance cooperation withAustralia in the fields of education, hi-tech agriculture, start-up ecosystemdevelopment, and smart urban building.
The statement was made by Chairman of the municipal People’sCommittee Nguyen Thanh Phong at his meeting in the city on May 25 with AustralianGovernor-General Peter Cosgrove.
Phong expressed his delight at strong development of the twocountries’ relations, especially in the context of the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 20th anniversary ofdefence ties.
In a local angle, as of April, Australia had run 182investment projects in Ho Chi Minh City with a total capital of 188 millionUSD. Two-way trade reached 915 million USD last year. Australia was rankedamong top ten in terms of the number of tourists to the city with 273,000arrivals in 2017.
According to Phong, last year, low-cost carrier Jetstarlaunched two direct air routes linking Ho Chi Minh City with Australia’sMelbourne and Sydney. Another low-cost carrier Vietjet Air also has a plan toopen an air route connecting the city with Australia’s Brisbane in early 2019.
This will be a driving force for the development of the twosides’ relations, not only in tourism, but also in other fields, he added.
He took the occasion to show his hope that theGovernor-General will maintain his back for Vietnam, including Ho Chi MinhCity, during its renewal, international integration and nation buildingprocess.
Cosgrove said that Australia treasures its ties with Ho ChiMinh City, a dynamic city in terms of economic development in the world.
According to him, Australia’s investment in Vietnam,including Ho Chi Minh City, will increase in the time to come, particularly inthe fields of innovation and education.
During his visit this time, he will discuss with Vietnamesestudents at RMIT University about innovation, and with young entrepreneursabout the Australia-Vietnam relations.
He also suggested the two countries boost tourismcooperation through the opening of direct air routes.-VNA
VNA
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Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) welcomes Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove (Source: VNA)