In a McGowan Government first, Asian Engagement Minister Peter Tinley will officially visit Vietnam next month to strengthen its business and investment links with Western Australia.
The Minister's four-day itinerary to identify and promote trade opportunities is expected to further deepen an already strong bilateral relationship between WA and Vietnam.
Vietnam, one of the most exciting emerging economies in the region, represents significant potential for WA businesses in the mining, shipbuilding, technology, international education and vocational training, agribusiness, health care and tourism sectors.
Vietnam's GDP per capita growth has rated among the fastest in the world since the 1990s - averaging 6.4 per cent annually during the 2000s and forecast to remain above six per cent until 2022. In the 2018 calendar year, WA's trade relationship with Vietnam was valued at $1.3 billion and our exports to Vietnam were estimated at $947 million.
These figures are expected to rise in future given Vietnam is set to become one of the world's top 20 economies by 2050.
Vietnam has a population of 96.2 million people - 40 per cent of whom are aged under 24 - and each year 1.5 million Vietnamese join the middle class.
WA has a vibrant community of Vietnamese-Australians. The latest Census shows there were 15,845 Vietnam-born people in WA (a rise of 24.6 per cent since 2011) and 21,687 people in WA identified as having Vietnamese ancestry (a rise of 35.9 per cent since 2011).
Vietnamese-Western Australians are an asset to developing the State's trade relationship because of their business networks, market intelligence and high level of entrepreneurship.
As noted by Asian Engagement Minister Peter Tinley:
"The McGowan Government places great value on the relationship between WA and Vietnam and is working diligently to further strengthen our connection through greater trade, investment and co-operation.
"I look forward to visiting next month and meeting people who are creating and facilitating new business opportunities that offer economic and social benefits to both Vietnam and WA."
