Key Points
- Two Australians on death row in Vietnam have been granted clemency.
- The "substantial breakthrough" comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Vietnam.
- Mr Albanese said the Australians' families were "very relieved".
Two Australians who were facing the death penalty in Vietnam have been granted clemency, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
Speaking upon his , Mr Albanese said there had been a "substantial breakthrough" in the cases of two Australians sentenced to capital punishment.
"I made representations to the (Vietnamese) prime minister yesterday morning, and by yesterday afternoon the president had signed the clemency orders," he told ABC's 7.30 on Monday night.
"Australia very much welcomed this. We make representations on behalf of Australian citizens and we are very pleased that Vietnam has agreed to the request and we thank them for it."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised the issue with Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. Source: AAP, AP / Duong Giang
"The families have been informed and they're very relieved," he said.
"They passed on their thanks to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials who've been working on this for some time."
The prime minister said Australia was building a "strong relationship" with its southeast Asian partners, and .
He said the government also made representations on behalf of another case, with the government seeking an international prison transfer.
"We make representations, we do it diplomatically and we always hope for positive outcomes in the interests of Australian citizens," Mr Albanese said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albaneseat the United Nations International School in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday. Source: AAP, EPA / Luong Thai Linh
Mr Albanese said trade bans on stone fruit had been lifted.
"We want to see all of the impediments removed but we continue to engage," he said.
"We think that dialogue is a positive thing, and if we can determine a mutually suitable date then I've said that I'm certainly up for travelling to China at some stage.
"That would be a positive thing."
Mr Albanese said Australia will welcome China's assistant foreign minister next month.
