Vietnamese President To Lam will visit Australia and New Zealand to strengthen strategic partnerships, expand trade, investment and education cooperation, and deepen Indo-Pacific engagement.
President To Lam of Vietnam will pay state visits to Australia and New Zealand from August 9 to 14, underscoring the importance that Vietnam attaches to building its strategic partnership with two important Indo-Pacific countries. President To Lam will be making his first official visits to the two countries since taking office in April 2026, at the invitation of Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn and New Zealand’s Governor-General Cindy Kiro.
The meetings are expected to center around areas such as strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, education, innovation, climate change, and regional security. Vietnam views Australia and New Zealand as key partners in their larger effort to increase economic integration and create a stable Indo-Pacific region.
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Vietnam continues to be one of Australia’s closest strategic allies. After both nations established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024, their cooperation in various sectors such as trade, defense, education, digital transformation, and clean energy has greatly increased. The two nations are striving to raise their bilateral trade to US$20 billion.
Educational initiatives continue to form an important pillar of Australia-Vietnam ties, with about 37,000 Vietnamese students studying in Australia at present. The government of Australia has also committed about $65 million for the development of Vietnam during 2026-27 in the domains of sustainable development and economic growth.
In the course of the Australian visit, the two nations are scheduled to sign up to 12 to 16 cooperative agreements on areas like education, agriculture, health care, and digitization. The purpose of these agreements is to increase economic involvement and generate new business opportunities.
In New Zealand, the visit of President To Lam will further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Vietnam and New Zealand are now working on the Action Plan 2025-2030, which is targeting an increase in bilateral trade worth US$3 billion, together with enhancing collaboration in agriculture, education, climate change, technology, tourism, and human resource development.
The New Zealand segment of the tour is also expected to lead to the signing of five to six cooperation agreements covering such fields as food and fiber industry, aviation, investments, tourism, and technology among others. These measures are geared towards improving the economic relations between the two nations.
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In addition to bilateral cooperation, the visits highlight Vietnam’s proactive diplomacy and its willingness to forge closer ties with other like-minded countries from the Indo-Pacific region. Increased interaction with Australia and New Zealand will help Vietnam meet its goals of diversifying its economic relations, bettering connectivity, and ensuring regional peace and prosperity.
The upcoming visits are hoped to inject new impetus into Vietnam’s ties with both countries through greater political talks, economic cooperation, and sectoral deals. Through collaboration in strategic sectors and regional affairs, Vietnam seeks to build up enduring relationships that will lead to mutual prosperity and resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.