Australia's economic future has been linked to Southeast Asia, with Vietnam a major driver of growth, the federal trade minister says.
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions and is set to become the world's fourth largest economy collectively by 2040.
The exponential growth carries the potential for Australia to triple exports to over $530 billion in that time.
Vietnam was a key driver with GDP forecasted to grow between five and seven per cent each year through to 2040, Senator Don Farrell said in a keynote speech after hosting Vietnamese Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung.
"My message to those looking to future-proof their businesses is to look to Vietnam and Southeast Asia more broadly," he told an Australia Vietnam Policy Institute conference on Thursday following the ministerial meeting.
The pair discussed building on trade growth and investment, particularly in infrastructure, green energy and agriculture as well as promoting international education and boosting tourism.
Two-way trade between Australia and Vietnam is up 80 per cent since early 2022 and surpassed $26 billion in 2023.
Tourism grew 55 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 180,000 Vietnamese travellers arriving in the 2023/24 financial year.
In other meetings, Foreign Minister Penny Wong will hold talks with her counterpart Bui Thanh Son on Friday.
Senator Farrell also recently met with his Indian counterpart Shri Piyush Goyal as Australia seeks greater access to the more than 1.4 billion people-strong market through a free trade pact.
He is set to travel to Singapore for a ministerial meeting and China for a large international trade conference in December.
Two Australian meat processors are the final remaining trade impediments with China after Beijing agreed to drop a live lobster import ban by the end of 2024.
