1. City Partnerships and Global Collaboration:
As Melbourne continues to grow as a global city, what role do partnerships like the Australia Vietnam Leadership Dialogue play in strengthening ties between Melbourne and Vietnam? How do you envision these collaborations benefiting both cities in the future?
Relationships, networks and exchange of ideas locally and globally are important for driving innovation and solving shared city challenges, such as climate adaptation, city resilience and inclusive economic growth. Partnerships like the Australia Vietnam Leadership Dialogue are a great opportunity to bring together future leaders of both countries to explore different perspectives on tackling these issues and harnessing the many opportunities for collaboration they present. AVLD has fostered a growing and diverse cohort of alumni in both countries, who are champions of the bilateral relationship. For City of Melbourne, these people-to-people ties are foundational to fostering closer city cooperation, ecosystems and business connections.
2. Economic and Cultural Exchange:
Vietnam is one of Australia’s fastest-growing trade partners. How does the City of Melbourne plan to further enhance economic and cultural exchanges with Vietnam, and what opportunities do you see for Vietnamese and Australian businesses in this relationship?"
We look to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as the business hub of Vietnam - a young, fast-moving place at the crossroads of Southeast Asia. As a rapidly growing international city, HCMC shares strong alignment with Melbourne in several key areas of interest, particularly in fostering thriving startup and innovation ecosystems, and creating smart and resilient cities. These areas of complementarity present good opportunities for Melbourne and Vietnamese businesses that hold key competencies in these areas. We have already started exploring opportunities to enhance economic exchanges, including hosting the AVLD DigiFrontiers Digital Economy Forum at Town Hall in April and we welcomed a delegation of 30 businesswomen from the HCMC Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Executives in September. Our shared interest in digital transformation offers great scope for collaboration and I was pleased to see that RMIT University recently signed an MoU with the Ho Chi Minh City Digital Transformation Center to support digital capacity building. With the launch of several new direct flights increasing annual capacity between Melbourne and Vietnam by more than 65,000 seats in the past year, the potential for increased economic and cultural exchanges is immense.
3. Sustainable Urban Development:
Both Melbourne and cities in Vietnam face challenges related to urbanization and sustainability. What lessons or best practices can Melbourne share with Vietnamese cities to address issues such as sustainable cities and communities, climate resilience, and livability?
The City of Melbourne is committed to addressing the urgent challenges of climate change and building a sustainable future. We regard the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a valuable blueprint for this.
By declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency, we've demonstrated our commitment to SDG 13: Climate Action. Our efforts to reduce emissions, promote renewable energy, and enhance community resilience contribute to several other SDGs, including:
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: We're working to create inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: Our initiatives focus on reducing waste, promoting resource efficiency, and transitioning to a circular economy.
SDG 15: Life on Land: We're protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems, promoting biodiversity, and combating desertification.
Our 'Prepare Melbourne' project directly addresses SDG 11, while our focus on community engagement and empowerment aligns with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
There are many lessons from our work in these areas that we would be happy to share with our Vietnamese neighbours.
4. Youth Leadership and Innovation:
With a strong focus on youth leadership and innovation at the AVLD, how can Melbourne support young leaders from both Australia and Vietnam in driving positive change, particularly in areas like technology, entrepreneurship, and social impact?
Education and innovation are key components of the bilateral relationship and a large number of Vietnamese business people and government officials are alumni of Melbourne universities. Melbourne and HCMC are both home to thriving startup and innovation ecosystems and a highly educated workforce and strong networks are key components of this. This year, City of Melbourne partnered with Melbourne startup HEX to create the inaugural Melbourne-HCMC Entrepreneur Exchange. The exchange is a capability-building program which aims to help entrepreneurs to understand their respective city’s business culture and startup ecosystem; to undertake market research and develop their networks. This is just one example of how Melbourne is supporting young leaders from both countries and we see great potential to further enhance collaboration between universities, innovation hubs and entrepreneurs more broadly.
5. Cultural Diversity and Inclusion:
Melbourne is known for its rich cultural diversity, including a vibrant Vietnamese community. How does the city ensure that this diversity is celebrated and leveraged to create an inclusive environment for all, and what can other cities learn from Melbourne’s approach?
More than a third of the Vietnamese-speaking population in Australia live in Melbourne and Victoria is home to Australian’s largest number of Vietnamese international students. The Vietnamese community are an important part of the mosaic that is Melbourne. I like the mosaic image because pieces of coloured glass, stone and ceramics glitter and sparkle – just as a community with many cultures shines all the brighter. The diversity of our municipality is one of our greatest assets and we are always exploring ways to work more closely to maximise opportunities for Melbourne business, migrants and visitors. Underpinning our approach is our Inclusive Melbourne Strategy which aims to ensure Melbourne is a place where everyone can prosper, where every voice is as important as the next and where diversity is celebrated for the vibrancy and richness that benefits us all.
6. Long-Term Vision for the Melbourne-Vietnam Relationship:
As a major sponsor of the AVLD, what is your long-term vision for the relationship between Melbourne and Vietnam? How do you see this partnership evolving over the next decade, particularly in areas like education, trade, and people-to-people connections?
Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN and a major education market for Victoria. Melbourne is well placed to leverage our existing, strong people-to-people ties and use city diplomacy to continue to grow and strengthen our partnership with Vietnam over the next decade. As a local government, we engage with international cities to exchange ideas and collaborate on initiatives which tackle shared challenges and create mutual prosperity. Last year City of Melbourne endorsed a new International Engagement Framework which identified Vietnam as a priority market and committed to fostering closer ties with Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). We hope to harness our two cities’ areas of mutual interest to strengthen and connect our startup ecosystems, drive innovation in creating smart and resilient cities and enhance business, industry and people-to-people connections.
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