Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd have agreed on a roadmap for comprehensive cooperation between the two nations and on greater efforts for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
The agreement was reached on October 13 in Canberra, Australia, during Prime Minister Dung’s visit to Australia, coinciding with the time the two countries celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
The two prime ministers discussed measures to further promote bilateral cooperation in such traditional areas as trade, education, development assistance, tourism, culture and science-technology, and expand cooperation in labor, construction, transport, mining, defense-security, communication and healthcare.
Australia pledged to complete procedures for recognizing market economy status for Vietnam and increase the number of annual scholarships for Vietnamese students.
After talks, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of an agreement on the transfer of imprisoned persons and attended a ceremony to grant a new license to the ANZ bank.
A cooperation agreement between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Victoria State and a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a USD 1 billion urban area and a USD 120 million bridge in Tien Giang province were also signed at the Vietnam-Australia Business Forum held in Melbourne on October 14.-