Q&A

+ Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese pays an official visit to Viet Nam

At the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from 03 to 04 June 2023. This is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first visit to Viet Nam since taking office, and takes place two months after the Governor-General’s state visit to Viet Nam.

The visit takes place as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1973 - 2023). Recently, the Viet Nam - Australia Strategic Partnership has witnessed positive, meaningful and effective development in politics - diplomacy, economy, defense and security, education and training, science and technology, sports, culture, and people-to-people exchange. On economy and trade, bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reached 15.7 billion USD, while trade turnover in the first quarter of 2023 reached 3.41 billion USD. As of February 2023, Australia has 590 investment projects in Viet Nam, with total capital of 2 billion USD. Cooperation in labor, agriculture and tourism are highlights. Both sides are also expanding cooperation to potential areas such as climate change response, and digital and energy transformation.

During the visit, the Prime Minister of Australia is expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, meet with Vietnamese senior leaders, among other activities.

+ Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son attends the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2023

At the invitation of the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann and Foreign Secretary of the UK, the co-host of OECD 2023, James Cleverly, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son will attend the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2023 from 07 to 08 June in France.

OECD is an important multilateral organization in setting regulations, standards and making global policy consultations. The OECD Ministerial Meeting is the most important annual activity of the OECD to discuss strategic political, economic and social issues, and exchange views on building regulations, standards and global economic governance. Under the theme, “Securing a resilient future: Shared values and global partnerships”, the meeting will focus on assessing and discussing the prospects of the world’s economy, promote global partnerships to increase economic resilience, strengthen economy, trade and applied technology to realize the goal of net zero emissions, and build a green, inclusive and sustainable economy.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is expected to deliver remarks at the 2023 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, and hold bilateral meetings with countries as part of the Meeting.

+ Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son pays an official visit to the Republic of France and the Czech Republic (05 to 10 June 2023)

 At the invitation of Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son will pay an official visit to the Republic of France from 05-08 June and to the Czech Republic from 08-10 June.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son’s France visit takes place as Viet Nam and France are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. During the visit, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to discuss measures to strengthen the Viet Nam - France Strategic Partnership, meet with senior French leaders, and meet with the Vietnamese community currently residing in France.

In the Czech Republic, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, meet with other senior leaders, and with the Vietnamese community currently residing in the Czech Republic.

Q&A

1. Tuoi tre: On 30 May 2023, the first 60 of 437 Vietnamese citizens rescued from a casino in the Philippines have been repatriated. Can you provide more information on the citizen protection measures and repatriation process for the rest?

Regarding the incident in which a number of Vietnamese citizens were rescued by Philippine authorities on 04 May in Pampanga, near the capital city of Manila, we can confirm so far 140 Vietnamese citizens have been safely repatriated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs directed the Consular Department and the Embassy of Viet Nam in the Philippines to continue keeping in close contact with the Philippine competent authorities to safely repatriate the remaining Vietnamese citizens, ensuring their lawful rights and interests.

The government of Viet Nam promotes legal, safe and orderly migration, while resolutely fighting against illegal migration, human smuggling and human trafficking. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with relevant authorities to raise awareness for the people wishing to search for jobs abroad, to warn them against false promises of easy labor with high pay that don’t require qualifications, for they may fall victim to labor exploitation at online gambling facilities, become illegal migrants or even victims of human trafficking.

2. Tuoi tre: Can you provide an update on the investigation into the accident in China and the repatriation of the victims’ remains?

Regarding the traffic accident in Jingxi, Baise, Giangxi on 19 May which killed 11 and injured 2, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Nanning cooperated with local authorities to guide and support the victims’ families in arrangements to repatriate the victims’ remains, and implement necessary citizen protection measures to repatriate the 2 injured citizens.

3. Tuoi tre: Can you provide more information on the illegal activities of the Xiang Yang Hong 10 vessel in Viet Nam’s EEZ?

Regarding the illegal activities of Xiang Yang Hong 10, we have stated our position on 25 May 2023. Vietnamese maritime law enforcement are closely monitoring the developments, and are resolute in the protection and exercise of Viet Nam’s legal rights and interests in its own waters in accordance with international law, the 1982 UNCLOS and Vietnamese law.

4. AFP: Yesterday we received the information that Ms. Hoang Thi Minh Hong, a well-known environmental activist in Viet Nam was detained by Ho Chi Minh police along with her husband and two employees on charges of tax evasion. What is Viet Nam’s response to the belief that the Vietnamese government tends to use tax evasion accusations to attack civil and social activists?

Viet Nam always strongly reaffirms its commitment to environmental protection, climate change response, and green and sustainable development. This was clearly acknowledged in a number of legal documents and policies of Viet Nam. At present, the government of Viet Nam is implementing various comprehensive measures in energy transformation, and growth model transformation toward green and circulation.

In Viet Nam, there are hundreds of social organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which are diversifying their activities in environmental protection and climate change response.

Generally, in Viet Nam, individuals, associations, organizations, people and non-governmental organizations are ensured their right to operations in accordance with regulations, and they must abide by the law and take responsibility before the law for their actions. Much like in other countries in the world, those who violate the law will be handled accordingly.