CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday announced that his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Khai will visit Australia on May 5-7.

    This is Khai's second visit to Australia as prime minister, during which he will visit Canberra, Brisbane, capital of the state of Queensland, and the Gold Coast of Queensland.

    Howard described bilateral relationship with Vietnam as "strong and productive," saying Khai's visit "is indicative of the strong people-to-people links that exist between our countries, both at the community level and at the highest political level."

    "Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Australia have expanded in the fields of economics, trade, education, culture, development, science and technology, security and defense," He said in a statement.

    Bilateral two-way trade in goods and services was 3.7 billion Australian dollars (2.78 billion US dollars) in 2004. More than 100,000 Australian tourists visited Vietnam, and more than 4,000 Vietnamese students were enrolled in Australian institutions in the same year.

    Howard said Vietnam is a significant member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is Australia's country coordinator with that grouping at present.

    "I look forward to meeting Prime Minister Khai and discussing issues of mutual interest, including in the areas of trade, security, people-to-people ties and regional cooperation," Howard said. Enditem