Sue Boyd

The first Australia’s female Ambassador to Vietnam from 1994 - 1998

"There's a great future for Vietnam because of its geographical location, its history and relationships with different countries, it has an educated and entrepreneurial population who are very smart."

Twenty-five years have passed since Sue Boyd left her position as Australia’s first female Ambassador to Vietnam and even though she took various similar positions in other countries, her passion for Vietnam has not faded at all. In her memoir “Not always diplomatic”, there's a specific chapter on Vietnam.

“I enjoyed my time in Vietnam, more than I enjoyed any other posting. It was my favourite posting” - she explained.

She took up her role as Ambassador in 1994, when Vietnam had just opened up and introduced the Doi Moi economic reforms “It was a very important time for the bilateral relationship and was really the beginning of a modern relationship, Vietnam was looking to build relations with foreign partners” - Sue said. “It was a time of change. It was a time when you could influence things, you could use all your skills to advance Australia's interests as well as Vietnam's interests”.

Sue Boyd said it is the My Thuan Bridge in the Mekong Delta that she is most proud of during her 3 year term. When the then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating visited Vietnam in 1993, he agreed to provide Vietnam with assistance to build a bridge over the Mekong River, which would bring benefits to Vietnam. By the time Sue Boyd started her mission in Vietnam in 1994, the design had already been drawn up and plans were in place to actually start the engineering work.

Then the new Australian foreign minister wanted to redirect the money to more traditional projects for poverty alleviation. Being aware of the great importance of the bridge for the economy, particularly for the southern part of Vietnam, as well as its symbolic meaning to the bilateral relation, Sue Boyd did various things to persuade the government to change the policy: She met people to convince them about the bridge, she wrote a letter to PM and she flew to Canberra.

“If I hadn't been bold and daring, the bridge would not have gone ahead - she said. “I took great risks in that, I put my career on the line and I had to stand up to ministers…”

“I’m really proud of that because I think that was a really major improvement for Vietnam”.

To sum up the relationship the former Ambassador said: “It’s fruitful, which means being bringing benefits to both sides, but also with the potential to improve and expand.”