Australia and Papua New Guinea are on track to increase defence co-operation and sign a new security agreement by April.
Defence Minister Richard Marles lauded PNG as an important neighbour and security partner after an informal dinner between ministers on Thursday night.
"PNG is a profoundly important country for Australia, in so many ways, but security is definitely one of them. It's a critical part of our national security landscape," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
"A lot of the conversations I've had with my counterpart Win Bakri Daki is about thickening what is already a very strong relationship between our two militaries.
"The negotiations in respect of this are very much on track."
The foreign ministers are co-chairing the 29th ministerial forum in Canberra, bringing together nine Australian ministers and 16 from PNG to discuss security, development and economic potential.
Security talks will encompass the regional outlook, policing, defence, border and maritime security and climate change.
Economic discussions will span trade and investment, agriculture, visa access, health, education, gender and sport.
"We share a deep affinity, we also share a future," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in her opening remarks.
"That's what we believe, we wish, this forum to work on."
Her PNG counterpart Justin Tkatchenko said the ministers needed to work together to strengthen security and economic prosperity in the region.
"Papua New Guinea needs to be politically and especially economically independent going forward for the benefit of our people," he told the meeting.
"A secure and prosperous Papua New Guinea is a secure and prosperous Australia as well.
"There's always room for help helping one another, especially when we have a situation where our region is changing."
Ahead of the ministerial meeting, PNG's vice-trade minister Kessy Sawang said the two nations needed to re-evaluate their relationship and focus on personal ties.
"Most of our relationships are based on our colonial past and the war," she told AAP.
"We need a new level of people-to-people relationship, rather than government-to-government and aid and diplomacy."
Ms Sawang says a scholarship provided by the Australian government to Papua New Guineans to study abroad is one of the best initiatives Canberra has in the Pacific.
"You have some of the world's best standards of education here," she said.
"That will pave the way for a new relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia that is based on people-to-people connections."
