The commitment was made after a visit by the Vietnam Working Committee for Foreign Non-Governmental Organisations, led by President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong, to the headquarters of some Australian NGOs in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

During the July 8-15 visit, the delegation had working sessions with Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade David Spencer and officials of the Australian Government's Overseas Aid Programme (AusAid) in Canberra.

AusAid said Vietnam will continue to be one of the countries in the region to receive priority from AusAid and funding through Australian NGOs will increase.

In recent years, Australian NGOs have increased their operations in Vietnam. At present, 28 Australian NGOs are supporting development projects in Vietnam with aid disbursement worth US$6-7 million per year.