Vietnam, Australia broaden ties in trade, investment, and supply chains

Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung on August 11 held a bilateral meeting with Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell in Canberra to discuss solutions for advancing economic and trade relations between the two nations, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The meeting took place within the framework of the state visit to Australia by General Secretary and President To Lam of Vietnam.

During the session, the two ministers focused on measures to further expand trade and investment cooperation. Specifically, they emphasized accelerating market access for agricultural and food products that are currently subject to restrictions.

The ministers also discussed boosting Australian investment in Vietnam across key sectors, including deep processing, high technology, strategic minerals, renewable energy, and supporting industries. At the same time, they encouraged stronger linkages between businesses from both countries in textiles, footwear, food processing, and electronic components.

Furthermore, the two sides explored cooperation opportunities arising from Australia’s housing development program, creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to supply construction materials and interior furnishings.

Notably, both ministers agreed to coordinate more closely within multilateral cooperation mechanisms and to effectively implement free trade agreements (FTAs) to bring practical benefits to their respective business communities.

According to statistics, in the first six months of 2026, bilateral trade turnover reached approximately $8.2 billion, a 22% increase over the same period last year. Vietnam's exports to Australia alone accounted for $3.8 billion, up 25.1%.

The two sides agreed to continue striving toward a bilateral trade target of $20 billion in the near future. This goal is based on maximizing the complementary nature of the two economies and fully utilizing existing frameworks, such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).