Canberra (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minhꦯ Chinh, his spouse LeThi Bich Tran and a high-rank🎉ing Vietnamese delegation arrived at Melbourne airporton March 4, beginning their trip to attend the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit and official visit to Australia.

Welcoming them at the airport were Australian officials, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam and representatives of the overseasVietnamese community in Australia. The Summit marks the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN - Australia dialogue relations and will be followed by an official visitto Australia from March 5-9 at the invitation of Australian PM Anthony Albanese. Themed "A Partnership for theFuture," the Summit presents an opportunity for both sides to reflect on their five-decade relationship and plan for futuredevelopment in line with bilateral comprehensive strategic partnershipestablished in 2021. PM Chinh, along with other ASEAN and Australianleaders, will outline visions, directions, and concrete measures to expandcooperation in the coming years. Notably, Australia is to proposenew cooperative initiatives, which, if agreed upon, could lead to breakthroughs inbilateral relations and further bolster ASEAN-Australia relations. While in Australia, the Vietnamese PM will engage intalks and meetings with Australia's top leaders. He will attend theVietnam - Australia business forum, visit an exhibition showcasing investmentprojects in Vietnam, and hold working sessions with Australian businessassociations and major corporations. Furthermore, he is set to tour various socioeconomicand scientific research facilities and interact with Vietnamese andAustralian intellectuals and experts. Beyond evaluating the progress of bilateralties, particularly within the framework of the Vietnam - Australia strategicpartnership, both sides will map out future cooperation directions. Theseefforts aim to elevate bilateral relations to a new height, with a focus on tradeand investment cooperation, especially in education-training, sci-tech,innovation, digital economy, and green economy. Thevisit is expected to culminate in the signing and exchange of cooperationagreements in various fields, including education, energy, minerals,agriculture, forestry, fisheries, science and technology, innovation, law,finance, trade and investment./.