President and his wife host the welcoming ceremony for the Governor-General of Australia and his spouse.

This afternoon, a solemn welcoming ceremony for Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse was held at the Presidential Palace.

The reception motorcade, escorted by a guide car and a guard car, brought the Australian Governor-General, his spouse and the delegation into the Presidential Palace.

To the sound of welcome music, President Luong Cuong and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet - the President's wife warmly welcomed Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn and Mr. Simeon Beckett - the Governor-General's spouse. Hanoi children presented flowers and waved to the Australian delegation.

The President and Governor-General of Australia at the welcoming ceremony

The two leaders reviewed the honor guard.

Next, the President invited the Governor-General to step up to the podium. The military band played the national anthems of the two countries.

President Luong Cuong invited the Governor-General of Australia to review the honor guard of the Vietnam People's Army.

The President and the Governor-General of Australia both came to greet the delegations from both countries attending the welcoming ceremony. At the end of the official welcoming ceremony, the two leaders returned to the podium to witness the welcoming parade of the Vietnam People's Army's honor guard.

The President and his wife and the Governor-General of Australia and his spouse

President Luong Cuong and Governor-General Sam Mostyn before the talks

After the welcoming ceremony, the President and the Governor-General of Australia held talks.

At the talks between President Luong Cuong and Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn, the two sides said that upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is a historic step forward, demonstrating the strategic trust and strong determination of the two countries.

The two countries are major trade partners with trade turnover reaching over 14 billion USD by 2024. The number of tourists between the two sides has increased steadily over the years and there are currently 56 round-trip flights/week between the two countries.

Australian businesses are facilitated to invest and do business in Vietnam. Vietnam actively becomes a bridge for Australia to strengthen its connection with the Southeast Asian region.

The President and Governor-General considered defense and security cooperation an important pillar and agreed to expand it effectively. Australia will continue to support Vietnam in officer training and participation in UN peacekeeping operations, especially in helping to transport field hospitals to the Vietnamese mission in South Sudan.

The President proposed that Australia continue to support Vietnam in training high-ranking leaders at the central and local levels, especially in training teachers and lecturers, connecting training programs between the two countries, promoting cooperation and experience exchange between training institutions...

The Australian Governor-General highly appreciated the important contributions of the community of about 350,000 Vietnamese people in Australia and nearly 40,000 Vietnamese students studying and researching in Australia; deep people-to-people exchange is a solid foundation of bilateral relations.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen measures to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, aiming for a trade turnover of 20 billion USD and doubling bilateral investment; and increasing market access for each other's key products.

Vietnam hopes to welcome stronger investment flows from Australian businesses based on Australia's economic connectivity initiatives with the Southeast Asia region, including the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

The two sides also agreed to encourage research facilities and scientists of the two countries to cooperate in building joint research projects, especially in strategic technology fields such as artificial intelligence and new materials.

Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn at the meeting

Earlier, Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and the delegation laid wreaths at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs and visited President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.