Vietnamese Defence Minister holds talks with British counterpart
Viet Nam’s Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang chaired a welcome ceremony for and held talks with UK Secretary of State for Defence Robert Ben Lobban Wallace in Ha Noi on July 22.
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| Talks between Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang and UK Secretary of State for Defence Robert Ben Lobban Wallace. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on the world and regional situation and issues of mutual concern. The British side shared Viet Nam’s views on solving the East Sea issue, affirming the importance of navigation and aviation freedom, supporting the rule of law, and emphasising that disputes need to be settled by peaceful means, based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
They agreed that over the past time, the bilateral cooperation has been lifted to a new height, with many achievements in the fields of politics, economy, trade, culture and education.
Regarding defence cooperation, despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have basically completed the agreed cooperation contents such as maintaining the policy dialogue mechanism, stepping up delegation exchanges, training English language for Vietnamese officers, and sharing experience in UN peacekeeping missions, thus contributing to the two countries’ strategic partnership.
They consented to continuing to promote defence ties with a focus on the exchange of delegations, the implementation of the existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Defence Policy Dialogue at the deputy ministerial level and the bilateral working group on defense cooperation, English language training for Vietnamese officers, the participation in UN peacekeeping missions, defence industry and cooperation on multilateral forums.
Viet Nam supports the UK’s participation in the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) on the basis of ASEAN consensus, and backs the UK in promoting collaboration with ASEAN, including in military defence.
Minister General Phan Van Giang expressed his pleasure to welcome and hold talks with Secretary of State for Defence Robert Ben Lobban Wallace in Ha Noi amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world as well as in two countries.
The move affirms the goodwill, efforts and determination of the two countries in promoting cooperation in general and defence cooperation in particular, he stated.
He took the occasion to thank the British Government for sharing experience in COVID-19 prevention and control, and putting Viet Nam on the priority list of vaccines. He also suggested Wallace, within his authority, help the Vietnamese Defence Ministry in gaining access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Within the framework of his Viet Nam visit from July 21-23, the UK Secretary of State for Defence is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, visit the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and the Viet Nam National Border Committee, and have a meeting with several officers who participated in UN peacekeeping missions.
(Source: VNA)
