Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd agreed to create a roadmap for comprehensive cooperation for the benefit of the two countries during their meeting Monday.

Australia agreed to continue providing official development assistance for Vietnam, especially for the Cao Lanh bridge project in southern Dong Thap Province, and pledged to increase the number of annual scholarships for Vietnamese students.

Rudd suggested that the Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN member countries, Australia and New Zealand scheduled to be signed by the end of this year would help boost the two countries’ economic cooperation.

After the talks, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of an agreement on convicted criminals transfer, attended a licensing ceremony to establish a wholly foreign-owned ANZ Bank office in Vietnam, and met with the press.

The two countries’ economic cooperation has continued to flourish with bilateral trade value reaching US$7 billion in 2007 and estimated to hit $8 billion this year. Australian businesses have invested more than $1 billion in Vietnam and the country is currently Vietnam’s third biggest export market.

Source: VNA