(VOVWORLD) -President Vo Van Thuong hosted a welcome ceremony on Tuesday morning at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi for Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and his wife, who are on a State visit to Vietnam.
 President Vo Van Thuong and Governor-General of Australia David Hurley inspecting the Guard of Honour. Photo: VOV |
Vietnam and Australia are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year. As scheduled, after the welcome ceremony, President Thuong and Governor-General Hurley will hold talks to evaluate their achieved results and set out directions to promote bilateral cooperation.
Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations in 1973, which were upgraded to Comprehensive Partnership in 2009, to Enhanced Comprehensive Partnership in 2015, and to Strategic Partnership in March 2018.
More than 20 mechanisms of bilateral cooperation have been maintained, including the annual meeting of two Prime Ministers, two Foreign Ministers, and two Defense Ministers and the Conference on Economic Partnership and Cooperation between localities.
 President Vo Van Thuong hosts a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi for Governor-General of Australia David Hurley and his wife. Photo: VOV |
Bilateral trade turnover totaled nearly 16 billion USD last year, up nearly 27% compared to 2021.
Australia is one of the bilateral partners providing the largest non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Vietnam. Australia has over the past 50 years provided Vietnam with 3 billion AUD of ODA.