Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Vietnam and Australia boost their cooperation in traditional growth drivers such as investment, exports, and consumption in an address to the Vietnam - Australia Business Forum in Melbourne on the morning of March 5.

Drawing nearly 200 enterprises from Vietnam and Australia, the forum is part of Prime Minister Chinh’s trip to Australia to attend the ASEAN - Australia Special Summit and pay an official visit to the country, the Government News has reported.

Vietnam has a market of 100 million people and advantages in a host of products, such as farm produce, electronics, and garments, he said.

He also suggested fostering bilateral cooperation in new growth drivers such as digital transformation, green transition, the circular economy, the knowledge-based economy, and the sharing economy on the basis of innovation and science and technology.

The Prime Minister called on businesses, associations, and investors in the two countries to broaden their collaboration, and pledged that the two governments will continue to create favorable conditions for cooperation.

The Vietnamese Government will continue to promote three strategic breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure, and human resources, and simplify administrative procedures and cut costs for investors, he said.

Vietnam has 630 Australian-funded projects with total registered investment capital of $2.03 billion, making Australia the 20^th-largest of the 145 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnamese businesses have invested in 90 projects with capital of over $550 million in Australia.

Two-way trade stood at some $14 billion in 2013, putting Vietnam and Australia among each other’s top 10 largest trading partners.