The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Vietnam’s Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology and its Australian partners. (Photo: VNA)

Sydney – The Vietnam – Australia Digital Forum 2023 was held in Sydney, the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), on August 4 to promote the cooperation in information and communication technology as well as the digital field between the two countries.

The event was co-organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the NSW Trade and Investment Department in charge of the Vietnam market.

The forum took place as part of Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung’s visit to Australia, Director of the MIC’s Department of International Cooperation Trieu Minh Long told Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Sydney.

In 2023, one of the key tasks that the ministry focuses on implementing is to support Vietnam’s digital business community  go global. In addition to activities in Australia, it also implements programmes in other countries and regions around the world such as the US, Japan, and Europe.

Long highlighted strengths of Vietnam’s digital technology enterprises, saying some of them have been successful in foreign markets, even in choosy markets like the US and Japan.

One of the advantages of Vietnamese businesses when accessing the Australian market is that the two countries have good diplomatic and economic relations, along with the strong Vietnamese community in Australia.

Speaking at the forum, Consul General of Vietnam in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia Nguyen Dang Thang said that developing a digital platform is a breakthrough solution to promote faster digital transformation, reduce costs and increase economic efficiency.

International cooperation is also an important solution to carry out digital transformation, especially promoting the transformation in society, thereby creating momentum for the digital transformation process in government agencies, he added.
Highlighting the two countries’ new cooperation opportunities, Thang said Vietnam and Australia have a strong cooperative relationship, high political trust which is an important point for cooperation in cybersecurity.

Karla Lampe, Director of NSW International Engagement & Market Development under the NSW’s Department of Enterprises, Investment and Trade (DEIT), emphasised that Vietnam and Australia are maintaining strongest-ever partnership, both from economic perspective and from the ties between the two governments. Both New South Wales and Vietnam have large technology companies and influential individuals in the media.

She expressed her hope that the two countries further promote economic and trade ties in the future, and outline ambitious digital transformation goals.

At the forum, representatives from agencies, organisations, research institutions and businesses of the two countries discussed issues related to information and communication technology, and digital technology to learn about policy incentives, the investment environment in Vietnam and Australia.

At the end of the forum, they witnesses the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Vietnam’s Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology and its Australian partners including Western Sydney University, the University of Canberra, SET Education, the Association of Vietnamese Australian Scholars and Professionals (VASEA)./.