Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Announcement on enhancing Vietnam - Australia relationship to the level of a Strategic Partnership
Da Nang 10/11/2017 - I am pleased to announce that Australia and Vietnam will enhance our bilateral relationship to the level of a Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and I agreed to this agreement in talks in Da Nang today.
The enhanced relationship will enable our countries to work more closely together on a range of issues, including defence, trade, investment, development, education, labor, tourism, law, finance, information and communication.
Australia and Vietnam will deepen bilateral trade and direct investment, and work together to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership into force as soon as possible. By bringing our economies closer together, we will drive economic growth and generate jobs in both countries.
Already, Vietnam is the fourth biggest source of international students for Australia and our sixth largest market for agricultural products. More than 75% of the bread used for Vietnam’s signature dish, banh mi, comes from Australian wheat.
We also agreed to closer defence and security cooperation, including military visits, peace-keeping, aviation and maritime security and safety, counter-terrorism, special forces, war legacy issues, and officer training.
I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Phuc to Australia at the time of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in 2018.