The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Construction, and Department of Education and Training.
At the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Hoang Nguyen Dinh and Victoria’s Deputy Premier Ben Carroll exchanged the agreement on friendly relations and cooperation between the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Government of Victoria, which had been signed by the highest-ranking leaders of the two localities. The agreement further elevates bilateral cooperation from the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding, focusing on five key areas, including trade and investment; education and training; science, technology and innovation; healthcare and biomedical sciences; and seaports and logistics. It marks the beginning of a new phase of deeper and more substantive cooperation between the two sides.
Regarding the city's development orientation, Vice Chairman Hoang Nguyen Dinh stated that, following the expansion of its administrative boundaries, Ho Chi Minh City has entered a new stage of development with greater scale and potential. The city has identified science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation as key drivers of sustainable growth, while remaining firmly committed to not sacrificing environmental protection for purely economic gains.
Ho Chi Minh City expressed its desire to strengthen cooperation with Victoria in the areas of urban planning, social housing development, and pollution control. The city also called on the state government to continue supporting and facilitating opportunities for Vietnamese students, particularly those from Ho Chi Minh City, to pursue education and research in Victoria, thereby contributing to the development of a highly skilled workforce.
Responding to Ho Chi Minh City's proposals, Victoria Deputy Premier Ben Carroll highly appreciated the city's role as Vietnam’s economic locomotive and its strong development potential. He noted that there remains considerable scope for further cooperation between the two sides. Sharing Ho Chi Minh City's vision and priorities, Mr. Carroll pledged to direct relevant state agencies to work closely with their counterparts to translate the cooperation framework into concrete and practical projects.
On this occasion, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Hoang Nguyen Dinh extended an invitation to Victoria's leaders to attend the Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Dialogue and the Autumn Economic Forum in 2026.
During its two-day visit and working trip to Victoria State on June 11–12, the delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, led by Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Hoang Nguyen Dinh met and held working sessions with a number of state agencies and partners in various fields, including the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Homes Victoria, Development Victoria, Monash University and RMIT University.
The delegation also met with representatives of the Vietnamese Australian Scholars and Experts Association (VASEA), listening to their insights and proposals for future cooperation.
Earlier, on June 10, in Queensland State, the delegation visited and worked with Study Queensland under the Trade and Investment Queensland, the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, and Brisbane City Council's International Relations Department.
