Vietnam and Australia on June 26 inked an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation, marking a new step forward in bilateral cooperation in this field. 

Signatories to th e agreement were Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan and Australia ’s Science and Research Minister Don Farrell. 

Addressing the signing ceremony in Canberra city, Minister Quan made a brief review of Vietnam ’s recent achievements in the field of science and technology. 

He stressed that t he Vietnamese Government has adopted the National Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development until 2020, with the goal of developing an advanced scientific and technological foundation for the country as compared with its ASEAN peers . 

For his part, Farrell affirmed the signing of the agreement is an important step for Australia in a century of Asia , contributing to reinforcing Vietnam-Australia bilateral ties. 

He said issues of the two countries’ common concern are climate change impacts, suitable adapting solutions, and low-carbon economic development. 

Following the signing ceremony, Minister Quan said Vietnam hopes to tap the partner’s strength in the fields of agriculture, health care, mineral exploitation, material technology, and education and training. 

The cooperation in science and technology between Vietnam and Australia was established in 1992 on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding. 

During Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Australia in 2008, the two sides agreed to work to upgrade the MoU to a governmental level agreement.