Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son attended the event.
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Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski addresses the event. |
During the event, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski emphasized the Vietnam - Australia defense cooperation relations, affirming that the bilateral defense cooperation has been expanded in many fields, such as education and training, U.N. peacekeeping operations, high-level defense strategic dialogue.
For his part, Gen. Son underscored that defense cooperation is a highlight in Vietnam - Australia relations. Recently, the bilateral defense relations have been implemented effectively on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defense Cooperation signed in 2010 and the Joint Vision Statement on Enhancing Defense Cooperation signed in 2018, achieving positive outcomes.
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Lt. Gen. Pham Truong Son underscores that defense cooperation is a highlight in Vietnam - Australia relations. |
Last March, both sides also successfully co-organized the seventh defense policy dialogue in Australia, contributing to orientating defense cooperation relations in the time to come.
Regarding multilateral front, the two countries have joined an initiative to establish the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) - a strategic defense cooperation mechanism for peace and stability in the region. The Vietnamese Defense Ministry highly appreciated Australia in respecting the ASEAN-centered role as well as in actively and constructively contributing to ADMM+ activities.
In the global arena, Vietnam - Australia cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping operations is considered a bright spot, showing their joint effort for peace of the world. “Notably, a peacekeeping partnership arrangement signed by the two governments in March 2024, replacing the agreement to realize the memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping reached in 2015, will serve as an important foundation in the bilateral peacekeeping cooperation,” stressed Gen. Son.
On the occasion, the Vietnamese general thanked the Australian side for the cooperation with and support for the Vietnam People’s Army in training more than 2,800 military officers and cadets. In the field of U.N. peacekeeping operations, Australia is considered Vietnam’s important partner, as it has assisted Vietnamese side in transporting five rotations of the Vietnam’s Level-2 Field Hospital to South Sudan.
Translated by Minh Anh