CANBERRA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Australia and Fiji will send troops to the Middle East on a peacekeeping mission within weeks.
According to The Australian on Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed that the troops will be deployed to the Golan Heights.
Morrison made the announcement while watching the PM's XIII rugby league match in Fiji, where he arrived for a two-day official visit on Friday.
"I just met some of the (Australian Defence Force) boys upstairs who are going to be deploying with the Fijians over in Syria. And they're going to be going there next week. Our Australians are going over there, training them, supporting them," he said.
According to the report, the deployment is not related to current events in northern Syria. And the co-deployment involving Australia and Fiji would begin as soon as the UN processes and approvals were finalised.
"This is part of both countries longstanding commitment to UN peace keeping operations in the Middle East," a Defence spokeswoman said.
During a meeting on Friday, Morrison and Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama discussed military cooperation and illegal fishing but avoided climate change, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
