(VOVworld) – Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith will begin a visit to Vietnam Wednesday, the second since Smith took office.

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh. He will tour the National Defense Academy, the Special Forces Officers School, and unit 871, and open an English language laboratory at the Military Technical Academy which is sponsored by the Australian army. Prior to the trip, Smith said Vietnam is assuming a steadily greater role in ASEAN and related forums. He added that Australia highly appreciates Vietnam for its active involvement in ensuring regional security and stability and his country pledges to bolster cooperation with Vietnam through dialogues and other activities. According to the Australian leader, Australia’s royal navy ship HMAS Sydney will dock in Vietnam this October.

The Australia-Vietnam national defense cooperation program has recently expanded to include United Nations Peacekeeping, Special Forces Engagement, and officer and English language training. Australia is currently providing a training course for 80 Vietnamese personnel to assist the Vietnam’s People Army in its future UN peacekeeping missions.