Welcoming the delegation at Noi Bai International Airport were Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong; and Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Hung Tam.

The delegation included Mr. Jeff Barnes, Deputy Assistant to the Governor General; Mr. Robert Ayling, Press Secretary; Ms. Natalie Kolobaric, Secretary for Strategy and Planning; Ms. Tiffany McCormack, Private Secretary and Protocol; Ms. Gillian Bird, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam.

The Australian Governor-General's visit is of great significance, affirming the two countries' determination to continuously strengthen friendship and cooperation in all fields, especially political cooperation, after more than 1.5 years of establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

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Leaders of Vietnamese ministries and branches welcome Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and his spouse at the airport.

For Australia, the visit demonstrates Australia's consistent policy of valuing and giving high priority to developing relations with the Southeast Asian region, including Vietnam.

For Vietnam, welcoming the Australian Governor-General to Vietnam contributes to implementing the Party and State's foreign policy of attaching importance to relations with countries in the South Pacific region, especially Australia - a country with an important role in the region.

Australia and Vietnam established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1973. The two countries became Comprehensive Strategic Partners from March 2024. Bilateral trade turnover in 2024 reached 14.1 billion USD, an increase of 2.3% over the same period in 2023.

Australia is currently Vietnam's 7th largest trading partner and Vietnam is Australia's 10th largest partner.

Australia is one of the largest bilateral partners providing non-refundable ODA to Vietnam. In March 2025, Australia announced that its ODA for Vietnam in the 2025-2026 fiscal year would be 96.6 million AUD (more than 63 million USD). In the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Australia's total ODA support to Vietnam has amounted to more than 3 billion AUD (more than 1.97 billion USD).

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Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung welcomed the Governor General of Australia and his spouse.

The number of Australian tourists to Vietnam will reach nearly 500,000 by 2024, making it one of Vietnam’s top 10 markets in this field. The Vietnamese community in Australia has about 375,000 people, ranking 5th among the overseas communities in the country.

Tomorrow, the Governor-General of Australia and his spouse will attend a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace hosted by President Luong Cuong and have meetings with key Vietnamese leaders. The Governor-General will have a number of activities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Under the Commonwealth system, the Governor-General of Australia represents the British Monarch in Australia. The Governor-General is the head of the federal executive council. The Governor-General of Australia carries out duties prescribed by the Constitution, including formally appointing the Prime Minister and ministers, calling elections, and giving Royal Assent to bills passed by Parliament.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/toan-quyen-australia-va-phu-quan-toi-ha-noi-2440883.html