Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese agreed to upgrade relations to the highest level - a comprehensive strategic partnership - during talks in the Australian capital of Canberra on March 7.

Addressing a press briefing afterwards, Prime Minister Albanese said the upgrade of bilateral relations is aimed at promoting cooperation between the two countries in a deep, practical, and effective manner in all fields, such as climate change prevention, energy transition, digital transformation, innovation, trade and investment, agriculture, and education and training.

The two sides attach importance to boosting trade and investment cooperation to promote the economic prosperity of both countries. Two-way trade turnover in 2022 reached A$25.7 billion ($16.9 billion), up 75 per cent compared to 2020.

Prime Minister Chinh stressed that the new framework of relations will contribute to enhancing and deepening cooperation, meeting the aspirations of people from both countries for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The framework focuses on certain key fields, he went on, including increasing political trust, promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation more inclusively, practically, and effectively, boosting cooperation in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and green transition, and more comprehensively strengthening cooperation in culture, education and training, the environment, and climate change adaptation.