Top leader To Lam arrives in Sydney, beginning State visit to Australia

Welcoming the Vietnamese leader and his entourage at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in New South Wales were Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Burke, Honourary Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of Australia; Colonel Michael Miller, Official Secretary to the Governor of New South Wales; Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science; and Prue Car, Deputy Premier of New South Wales, along with representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister of New South Wales, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Gillian Bird and officials from the Australian Protocol Office.

On the Vietnamese side, the delegation was welcomed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam, Consul General of Vietnam in Sydney Nguyen Thanh Tung, Consul General of Vietnam in Perth Pham Hai Anh, and officials and staff of Vietnamese representative missions in Australia.

The visit comes as Vietnam-Australia relations enter a new phase following the establishment of their new partnership framework in 2024. It is also the first visit by a top Vietnamese leader to Australia since the relationship was upgraded, underscoring Vietnam’s importance attached to Australia as an important partner in the South Pacific region.

Strengthening trust after more than half a century

Vietnam and Australia officially established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973. Over more than five decades, bilateral ties have continued to expand, underpinned by growing political trust and increasingly substantive cooperation across a wide range of areas.

The elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024 opened a new chapter in ties, providing a framework for the two countries to expand cooperation in areas of strategic importance to their respective development.

Australia currently regards Vietnam as one of its important bilateral partners in the region. The two countries maintain regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts, as well as numerous cooperation mechanisms covering politics, the economy, trade, investment, defence and security, education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

Economic ties create an important pillar of the relationship. Australia is currently Vietnam’s seventh-largest trading partner, while Vietnam is Australia’s 10th-largest trading partner. Two-way trade reached US$14 billion in 2025 and US$8.1 billion in the first six months of 2026, up nearly 22% year on year.

The two countries are also working toward a target of US$20 billion in bilateral trade, with expanded market access for Vietnamese agricultural products and stronger two-way trade creating additional room for economic cooperation.

Education, science and technology, and innovation are playing an increasingly prominent role in Vietnam-Australia relations. Nearly 25,000 Vietnamese students are currently studying in Australia, making Vietnam one of the major sources of international students in the country.

The two sides are also implementing the second phase of the Aus4Innovation programme and strengthening cooperation in science, technology and innovation, opening up new areas of collaboration that match the evolving development needs of both economies.

Giving fresh impetus to strategic areas of cooperation

The visit takes place at a time when Vietnam promotes a new development model driven by productivity, knowledge, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and modern governance.

These are also areas in which Australia has considerable strengths, ranging from basic research and strategic technologies to high-quality human resource development and modern governance.

Against this backdrop, the visit is expected not only to consolidate political ties but also to help translate the two countries’ cooperation potential into concrete programmes and projects, generating new momentum for growth and development.

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong, the visit’s agenda has been designed to link high-level diplomacy with concrete cooperation in the economy, technology, education and human resources. The goal is not simply to broaden bilateral relations, but to generate new drivers of development.

One anticipated priority is stronger cooperation in science and technology, innovation and strategic technology industries, thereby adding new growth pillars alongside the traditional areas of trade, investment and education.

This direction is also consistent with the complementary strengths of the two economies, while creating opportunities for businesses, universities, research institutes and organisations from both countries to participate more deeply in emerging cooperation networks.

Alongside economic and development cooperation, people-to-people ties are an important foundation of Vietnam-Australia relations. The Vietnamese community in Australia numbers around 375,000 people and serves as a bridge that helps strengthen mutual understanding, exchanges and bonds between the two peoples.

With more than five decades of bilateral ties and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework now being implemented, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s visit is expected to further consolidate political trust, shape cooperation priorities for the new period and provide fresh impetus for Vietnam-Australia relations to develop in an increasingly deep, substantive and effective manner.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam begins Australia visit

VOV.VN - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and State President To Lam left Hanoi on August 9, beginning his state visit to Australia at the invitation of Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn.