This is the fifth report in our series of AVPI Policy Briefings detailing the discussions had at the Australia Vietnam Business Champion Roundtable in Adelaide on the 9 September 2022.
This roundtable was organised by the Australia Vietnam Policy Institute (AVPI) in collaboration with Knowledge Partner, the University of South Australia, as part of AVPI’s sectoral policy dialogues. Hosted by Business Champions, Louise Adams and Martin Bean CBE, this Roundtable brought together 32 participants and five observers from the agriculture, transport, digital economy, education, tourism, research, and government sectors.
It was our biggest Roundtable in 2022, showcasing South Australia’s enthusiasm towards strengthening the trade and investment relationship with Vietnam. We were honoured to receive opening remarks from The Hon Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism via video message. Thank you to Robyn Mudie, First Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia Mainland and Regional Division and former Ambassador to Vietnam for attending and providing a unique perspective on the relationship.
The key themes that arose from the discussion in Adelaide were ‘Tapping into Talent, ‘Enhancing Education Engagement’, ‘Destination Marketing’ and ‘Winning with Wine’. which are reflected in the report.
These discussion highlighted the need for Australian businesses to strengthen partnerships in secondary education, increase control over talent pipelines by investing in education and skills training to on-site teams or partnering with vocational or higher education institutes to ensure that there is a consistent flow of new talent, and consistently up-skilling or re-skilling current workers. Given the South Australian location for this Roundtable, picking opportunities in wine was also highlighted, which is a key opportunity for the taking from other states including WA, NSW, VIC and TAS, and finally, data sharing for customised high-end experiences was also recommended.
The report recommends that the Australian Government streamline work and skilled visa processes, intentionally cultivate and tap into the networks of our tertiary alumni as a way to build diplomatic ties, and create a robust inbound mission program for SMEs that focuses on creating an ecosystem from which businesses between Australia and Vietnam can be incubated and thrive.
For the Vietnamese Government, the reports highlights the need to streamline visa processes and showcase opportunities by providing or incentivising the availability of advisory services for Australian businesses seeking to enter Vietnam to support their success. There is also the opportunity to play a key facilitation role in brokering education industry partnerships and continue facilitating technical and regulatory cooperation for complementary industries – where regulation may not have progressed due to domestic necessity.
