Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse Tran (R) stand with Australian Primary Minister Anthony Albanese (2nd L) and his fiancee Jodie Haydon (L) for the duration of an official welcoming ceremony at Parliament Household in Canberra on March 7, 2024.
David Gray | Afp | Getty Images
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed on Thursday the nation was raising ties with Vietnam to the amount of a comprehensive strategic partnership, with an annual dialogue on minerals amid a drive to diversify supply chains away from China.
“Elevating our ties to a complete strategic partnership today places Australia and Vietnam among each other’s significant companions,” Albanese informed a news convention in Canberra.
The ties update marks the latest success for Communist-ruled Vietnam’s “bamboo diplomacy”, soon after it boosted relations final yr with the world’s leading powers as it tries to navigate soaring world tensions.
“Mutual political belief between the two nations around the world has been elevated, achieving the highest-at any time amount,” the formal Vietnam News Agency documented on Thursday.
The partnership will support expanded cooperation on a variety of difficulties, such as weather, environment and energy, defense and security, and economic engagement and education, a joint statement by the two nations around the world mentioned.
Albanese and Chinh on Thursday also witnessed the exchanges of 12 cooperation documents on regions together with electricity, minerals, agriculture, banking and finance, according to the Vietnamese government.
Australia is a big producer of critical minerals that are used in every little thing from smartphones to cars, while Vietnam has some of the most significant untapped deposits in the earth.
“An annual ministerial dialogue on energy and minerals will push cooperation in our energy and resources sectors, including critical minerals supply chains,” the assertion explained.
The United States has already agreed to strengthen cooperation on unusual earths with Vietnam, whose means are found as an alternative supply of the minerals. China has the world’s major deposits, with 44 million tons believed, and dominates the extraction and processing of the essential minerals.
Vietnam, which is reported to have the world’s 2nd-major deposits of close to 22 million tons of uncommon earths oxide, or REO, equal, has attracted miners from Australia.
Blackstone Minerals Ltd. had agreed to spouse with Vietnam Rare Earth JSC, or VTRE, to win concessions at the Vietnam’s major mine, Dong Pao in Lai Chau province, in a venture that would total to about $100 million if it wins the concession.
Australian Strategic Materials also signed a binding agreement in April 2023 with VTRE for the obtain of 100 tons of processed uncommon earths a year, and committed to negotiating a lengthier-expression source offer.
However, some rare earth specials have been remaining in limbo right after Vietnamese police in October arrested the VTRE chairman and accused him of forging value extra tax receipts and rare earth smuggling.
Australia has been a essential coal provider to Vietnam, which is heavily reliant on the fossil fuels for ability technology. Coal shipments from Australia to Vietnam rose 17% last yr to 20 million metric tons, accounting for 39% of Vietnam’s full coal imports.
Alongside with Australia, the Southeast Asian nation’s top companions now involve the United States, China, India, South Korea, Japan and Russia.