President Luong Cuong presided over the state-level welcoming ceremony for the Governor-General of Australia.

On the afternoon of September 10, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong and his wife presided over the welcoming ceremony for Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse.

President Luong Cuong and his wife Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn and his husband Simeon Beckett pose for a group photo. Photo: VPCTN

At the invitation of President Luong Cuong and his wife, Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn and his husband arrived in Hanoi , beginning a State visit to Vietnam from September 9 to 12.

On the afternoon of September 10, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong and his wife presided over the welcoming ceremony for Governor General Sam Mostyn and his spouse.

The visit takes place in the context of increasingly strong cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, especially since the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in March 2024.

Attending the welcoming ceremony were Party Central Committee Secretary, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung; Party Central Committee members: Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Truong Thang; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong. Also attending were Deputy Minister of Public Security, Senior Lieutenant General Le Van Tuyen; Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Tam; Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam.

President Luong Cuong and Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn on the podium, listening to the military band playing the national anthems of the two countries. Photo: VPCTN

A large number of children in the capital were present at the Presidential Palace waving the flags of both countries to welcome Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse and the Australian high-ranking delegation.

The motorcade escorting Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse entered the Presidential Palace. President Luong Cuong and his wife were present on the red carpet to warmly welcome Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who led the Australian high-ranking delegation on a State visit to Vietnam. Afterwards, children from the capital came forward to present Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse with beautiful bouquets of flowers.

To the sound of welcoming music, President Luong Cuong and Governor-General Sam Mostyn walked down the red carpet to the waving voices of children to step onto the podium of honor. The military band played the national anthems of both countries.

President Luong Cuong and Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn review the honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army. Photo: VPCTN

After listening to the national anthems of both countries, the two leaders left the podium, bowed to the military flag and inspected the Guard of Honor of the Vietnam People's Army. Next, President Luong Cuong and Governor-General Sam Mostyn introduced the members of the high-ranking delegations of the two countries attending the welcoming ceremony.

Vietnam and Australia officially established diplomatic relations on 26 February 1973. Since then, the two countries have built a strong and enduring relationship with diverse and growing interests. Today, Vietnam is considered one of Australia's most important bilateral partners.

Cooperation between Vietnam and Australia has made positive developments, especially since the two countries upgraded their bilateral relations to the level of Comprehensive Partnership in 2009, signed the Declaration on Enhanced Comprehensive Partnership in 2015, and upgraded the relationship to the level of Strategic Partnership in March 2018. Notably, during the official visit to Australia by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation in March 2024, the two sides issued a Joint Statement on upgrading the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, creating a framework to strengthen and further deepen the cooperative relationship, meeting common aspirations, for the common interests of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Official welcoming ceremony for Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn on a State visit to Vietnam. Photo: VPCTN

Vietnam and Australia are committed to continuing to develop relations in all areas and promoting an upgraded relationship on the basis of respect for international law, sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and respect for each country's political system. The upgrading of relations between Vietnam and Australia to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is a natural and appropriate development step given the level of relations between the two countries after more than 50 years of building and developing. In October 2024, the two countries signed an Action Program to implement this partnership for the 2024-2027 period. To date, the two sides have coordinated to complete or implement on schedule 96% of the total 180 action lines of this action program.

President Luong Cuong and Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn pose for a photo. Photo: VPCTN

The two countries currently have strong and growing trade and economic relations. Currently, Australia is Vietnam's 7th largest trading partner and Vietnam is Australia's 10th largest partner. In 2024, the total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Australia will reach 14.1 billion USD and in the first 7 months of 2025, it will reach 7.9 billion USD. In addition, cooperation between the two countries in the fields of security, defense, education - training, labor, agriculture, etc. has always developed well and has a lot of potential.

The Vietnamese community in Australia has about 375,000 people, ranking 5th among foreign ethnic communities in Australia and is an important bridge contributing to strengthening friendship between the two countries.

Regarding the prospects for cooperation between the two countries, Vietnam and Australia still have a lot of potential for cooperation that can be exploited, especially in areas that Vietnam is prioritizing and Australia has strengths in such as high technology, innovation, clean energy, mining, infrastructure, telecommunications, services, tourism, and high-tech agriculture.

With a good foundation of relations, the State visit to Vietnam by Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn and his spouse is of great significance, helping to affirm the determination of both countries in continuously strengthening the friendship and cooperation in all fields, especially political cooperation, after more than a year and a half of establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

After the welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and Governor-General Sam Mostyn led the two countries' high-ranking delegations to hold talks, assess the results of cooperation between the two countries in recent times and propose directions for cooperation in the future.

Source: https://vpctn.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/chu-tich-nuoc-luong-cuong-chu-tri-le-don-cap-nha-naoc-toan-quyen-australia.html