Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong discussed with visiting Governor of Australia’s Victoria state Linda Dessau ways to promote cooperation between the two sides, particularly in innovative startup and education, at a meeting on October 4.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R)
presents a gift to Governor of Australia’s Victoria state Linda Dessau (C)
at the meeting on October 4

Phong hailed the development of Vietnam-Australia ties across various fields such as trade, education, agriculture, military and tourism, stressing that the good bilateral relations positively contributing to the stability and prosperity of each country and the region as a whole.

He affirmed that HCM City considers Australia an important and trustful partner, and noted that the two sides have many opportunities to expand their cooperation to potential fields such as innovation, education, technology and trade.

The city is ready to embrace chances for cooperation with partners from Victoria state in developing the ecology for innovation, sharing experience in training startups and partnering to exploit markets, Phong said.

He added that the city also hopes to continue working with Victoria state in providing short-term training to managerial officials in the field of public administration.

Governor Dessau said Victoria administration and businesses appreciate the potential of HCM City and wish to further promote their partnership with the city in fields of common interests, especially in sectors that the state is strong in such as innovative startup, education, agriculture, smart city, clean energy and renewable energy. She added that the state is also interested in education projects in the Vietnamese city.

Australia is currently the 17th biggest foreign investor among 106 countries and territories investing in HCM City, running 182 projects worth nearly 188 million USD. Last year, two way trade between the city and Australia almost reached 979 million USD. The same year, more than 300,000 Australians visited HCM City.