PANO - A solemn ceremony to welcome General Simeon Hristov Simeonov, Bulgarian Chief of the General Staff, was held at the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence Headquarters in Hanoi on November 26th.
The visit took place at the invitation of Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of Vietnam People’s Army.
At the talks held right after the ceremony, the two sides informed each other about the situations of each country, focusing on the results of cooperation between the two armies and discussing measures to boost bilateral defence cooperation in the coming time.
General Simeonov highly appreciated the developing traditional and friendly relations between Vietnam and Bulgaria, and affirmed that defence cooperation has been one of the important achievements of the armies and peoples of the two countries in recent years.
The general also held that the cooperation fields which have been implemented are a firm foundation, contributing to maintaining the relationship between the two armies and peoples.
Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty spoke highly of the support from the Bulgarian army and people during the resistance wars to liberate the country and for the cause of socio-economic development today. However, according to the general, the cooperation between the two sides does not yet correspond with the potential and real capacity of the two armies.
The two sides agreed to increase cooperation in cadet training, including teaching Bulgarian and Vietnamese languages; information sharing; rescue and disaster relief; technical issues; etc. The Bulgarian side confirmed that it was willing to share experiences with Vietnam in UN peacekeeping, responding to natural disasters and military medicine.The two sides agreed to task their relevant agencies to prepare the contents for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defence Cooperation, setting a legal framework for better cooperation between the two armies.
After the talks, General Simeonov and the members of the Bulgarian delegation paid a courtesy visit to General Phung Quang Thanh, Minister of National Defence.
General Phung Quang Thanh thanked them and highly appreciated the support of the Bulgarian army and people for Vietnam during wartime and for the current cause of building and developing the country.
The Vietnamese Defence Minister affirmed that the Vietnam People’s Army expects to increase cooperation with the Bulgarian Army, especially in terms of exchanging visits, training and military medical practice.
Translated by Ngoc Hung