Vietnam and Australia deepen ties

Vietnam and Australia have officially ramped up diplomatic ties ahead of a special summit of South East Asian leaders.

Foreign and defence ministers from both countries will now catch up annually for bilateral talks and there will also be ministerial level economic meetings.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received a ceremonial welcome ahead of his bilateral talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The leader and his wife inspected a guard of honour and received a 19-gun salute outside Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday morning.

Mr Turnbull and Mr Phuc signed a new strategic partnership aimed at deepening defence, security, trade, investment, development and tourism links on Thursday.

"This announcement is a fitting way to mark 45 years of diplomatic relations," Mr Turnbull said.

They also inked separate deals on education and research.

Australia and Vietnam are set to increase cooperation on vocational education and training.

Last year there were more than 23,000 Vietnamese students studying in Australia which is the second most popular destination after the US.

The Vietnamese prime minister touched down in Canberra on Wednesday afternoon.

He's the first South East Asian leader to arrive ahead of the Australian-Association of South East Asian Nations special summit in Sydney, which kicks off on Friday.

The summit will focus on education, economic cooperation, countering terrorism and other regional security challenges including North Korea and tensions in the South China Sea.

Vietnam and Australia last week signed up on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.

Vietnam is the fastest-growing economy in ASEAN.