From March 17 to March 20, 2015, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made official visits to Australia and New Zealand to step up partnerships. Within the framework of his visits, both countries agreed to lift their relations with Vietnam to new levels, looking toward strategic partnerships.

In Australia and New Zealand, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended Business Dialogues. In Dialogue, Prime Minsiter stressed on the importatnce role of enterprises of each country to promote investment and trade between two countries. Prime Minister alo welcomed firms from Australia and New Zealand to Vietnam to do business in some sectors, which both sides have potential cooperation, such as: Agribusiness and Processing Food, Energy and Mining, Telecomunication, etc.

In Australia, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met a range of Australian political and community leaders during his visit. While over the official visit to New Zealand, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also was welcomed respectively by his NZ counterpart John Key and other NZ officials.

Vietnamese and Australian leaders witnessed the signing of the Declaration on Enhancing the Australia – Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, which sets out a high-level strategic agenda to guide the relationship in the time to come. The Declaration refers to regional and international cooperation, trade and investment, industry development, development assistance, defence, law enforcement and security. 

Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung and Prime Minister Tony Abbott also agreed to reach a prompt conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations. Australia is ready to support Vietnam’s efforts to host Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2017. 

While PM Dung and his NZ counterpart John Key underlined the need to maintain high-level delegation exchange and meetings, dispatch special envoys and promote the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms to effectively implement agreements between the two nations.

They also observed the signing of the Protocol on a revised air transport agreement and an agreement on food safety and animal and plant quarantine and reaffirmed commitments to finalize high-quality free trade agreements (FTAs), consisting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Particularly, both Vietnamese, Australian and NZ leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region as soon as called on all parties to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and early reach progress a code of conduct for the East Sea (COC). 

PM Dung also invited his Australian and NZ counterparts to visit Vietnam and his invitations were accepted with pleasure.