The Party chief warmly welcomed Defense Minister Sergey Shoyu and his entourage. He also asked the Minister to convey his compliments and greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister and President of the United Russia political party Dmitry Medvedev, and other leaders of Russia.
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General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong hosted a reception for Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoyu |
The Party Chief confirmed that the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and people of Vietnam have greatly treasured the traditional friendship and efficient cooperation with Russia and have always attached importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with the country, regarding it as one of top priorities in their foreign policy.
“Vietnam always supports and wants Russia to play a greater role in the Asian-Pacific region, considering it an active element to peace and stability in the region and the world,” he said.
The Party Chief spoke highly of the results of the talks between Defense Ministers Ngo Xuan Lich and Sergey Shoyu. He reiterated that Vietnam sees Russia as a prioritized partner in cooperation on military technology based on high trust and not aiming to act against a third country, contributing to safeguarding peace, stability and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific rgeion and the world.
Close and regular cooperation between the two defense ministries has helped augment the comprehensive strategic partnership of the two countries, Party Chief Trong said, expressing his belief that the outcomes gained during Minister Sergey Shoyu’s visit will contribute to reinforcing and deepening the partnership, especially in defense and military technology cooperation.
The Russian Minister expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam again and thanked the host for his warm reception. He informed the Vietnamese host of some key developments in Russia and the results of the talks between him and his Vietnamese counterpart.
The Russian Minister stressed that Russia always places importance on reinforcing and developing the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam and will spare no effort to push the implementation of the signed agreements, particularly on defense and military technology cooperation, to make practical changes in the bilateral ties. Therefore, the Russian Ministry of Defense will work closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to promote the bilateral defense ties to grow in a long-term, practical, efficient and reliable manner.
The Russian Minister wished the Party Chief and the Vietnamese people to gain even more achievements in defending and building a prosperous Vietnam.
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Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang held a reception for the Russian Defense Minister. Photo: VNA |
Earlier on the same day, Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang held a reception for the Russian Minister at the Presidential Palace.
Speaking at the reception, President Tran Dai Quang spoke highly of the development of the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership and high-level agreements reached in 2017.
The Vietnamese President reaffirmed that Vietnam always remembers Russia’s great support for the country’s past struggle for national liberation and the current nation building and safeguarding, he said, affirming Vietnam’s consistent policy of strengthening the partnership in all fields.
President Tran Dai Quang stressed that cooperation in defense and military technology continues playing an important role in the two countries’ ties. According to the President, Russia is Vietnam’s prioritized partner in military technology cooperation, based on high trust and this cooperation contributes to maintaining peace, stability, and sustainable development in the Asi-Pacific region and in the world.
The Vietnamese leader hailed efforts made by the two Defense Ministries and Russian partners to implement the two countries’ priority tasks in 2017, thus helped foster the bilateral comprehensive strategic relations.
On this occasion, the Vietnamese President wished Russia’s Presidential election 2018 a success.
Minister Sergey Shoyu thanked President Tran Dai Quang and briefed the host on the outcomes of his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich, during which they discussed and agreed on measures to consolidate and develop the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation.
The Minister said that the two countries actively consulted each other within the framework of the third strategic defense dialogue at deputy-ministerial level held in Hanoi in November last year. Every year, the Russian side provides scholarships for officers of the Vietnamese defense ministry. The two ministries have also signed agreements on cooperation in UN peacekeeping activities and coordination in the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
The Russian Minister also revealed that the two Defense Ministries agreed on a plan for cooperation until 2020, with the focus on military technological and training cooperation and delegation exchanges to share experience in the defense field.
President Quang appreciated the outcomes of the talks between the two ministers and expressed his backing for measures they had agreed.
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General Ngo Xuan Lich (L) and Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoyu |
Earlier, on January 23 morning, General Ngo Xuan Lich, member of the Politburo, Deputy-Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Vietnamese Minister of National Defense, chaired a welcome ceremony and held talks with his Russian counterpart at the Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense.
At the talks, the two sides were delighted to see strong development in bilateral defense cooperation in recent time. Together with the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the bilateral defense cooperation has been broadened and consolidated in both modality and content, including exchange of visits at all levels; cooperation in military technology, navies, UN peacekeeping; sharing experiences in military laws, history, medicine, culture and arts, and sports.
The two sides agreed to share their viewpoints on issues of mutual concerns relating to defense and security; boost defense cooperation in traditional, practical, and trusted fields; promote military technology cooperation on a long-term, equal, mutual benefit basis for peace and stability in the world and in the region.
Speaking at the talks, General Ngo Xuan Lich warmly welcomed his Russian counterpart’s visit to Vietnam at a time when the two countries’ ties in general and defense relations in particular are developing dynamically and effectively. The visit shows the commitment of the leaders of the two Defense Ministries to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation, contributing to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
The Russian guest thanked General Ngo Xuan Lich for his warm, sincere, and solemn reception. He reaffirmed that Russia always considers Vietnam a traditional friend, a strategic partner, and an important partner of Russia in the region.
Within the framework of the visit, the Russian Minister and his entourage laid a floral wreath at the monument to heroic martyrs in Hanoi.
Translated by Nam Long