Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia in Canberra on March 8 as part his official trip to the country.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia in Canberra on March 8 as part his official trip to the country.

At a working session with CSIRO leaders, the Vietnamese Government leader expressed his impression on the sound cooperation between Vietnam and CSIRO over the past time, and congratulated the organisation on its valuable research that has contributed significantly to Australia and the whole world.

He particularly highlighted that the organisation has been on the right track with its studies on digital transformation, green transition, innovation and agriculture, among others, which are in line with Vietnam’s development policies.

He suggested CSIRO and its Vietnamese partners make efforts to remove roadblocks in their cooperation, adding the Vietnamese Government will pen mechanisms and policies to ensure that cooperation programmes are carried out smoothly.

The PM asked Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities to step up cooperation with CSIRO, stressing as collaboration in science-technology, innovation, climate change response, digital transformation and green transition is boundless, they need to fully tap the Australian Government’s 2 billion AUD (1.3 billion USD) finance facility for trade and investment promotion with ASEAN so as to implement practical and specific programmes and projects. 

Meanwhile, Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said as sci-tech and innovation cooperation programmes are a pillar in the bilateral relations, which has been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Australian Government committed to enhancing the sci-tech cooperation with Vietnam through specific projects.

Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said that Australia’s innovation programmes managed by CSIRO have helped Vietnam develop its fisheries, plantation and modern production sectors on the basis of the commercialisation of the research results.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that cooperation with CSIRO helps Vietnam handle challenges in agriculture that the country is facing.
Vietnam hopes to receive CSIRO’s support to develop low carbon emission tra fish and shrimp farming models, he added.

On the occasion, Dat and CSIRO Chief Executive Doug Hilton exchanged an agreement on sci-tech and innovation cooperation in the presence of PM Chinh.

Established in 1916, the Australian national science agency has been one of the world’s largest mission-driven science and research organisations, with 5,500 staff and 57 establishments across Australia and representative offices in the US, Chile, France, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The organisation has close cooperation ties with the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology for years. Both sides signed agreements on research support in the fields of CSIRO’s strengths such as agriculture and food, healthcare and bio security, energy, manufacturing industry and land and water resources./.