PANO – Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, on June 24th, started his four-day official visit to France, at the invitation of Admiral Edouard Guillaud, Chief of Defence Staff of France.
The two sides held talks after a solemn military welcome ceremony in Paris on the same day.
About the bilateral relations, Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty said that the Vietnam-France relationship is on the right development track with the motto of “traditional friendship and comprehensive, long-term and reliable cooperation for the 21st century”, and is looking ahead to a strategic partnership.
The Vietnamese general stressed that the high ranking Vietnamese military delegation’s visit to France this time takes place as the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and is to boost bilateral defence ties.
Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty also reviewed some effective cooperation contents between the two sides such as the annual Joint Defence Committee meeting mechanism, cooperation in defence science and technology, and exchange of experience in military medicine and hydrography. On this occasion, he thanked the French Defence Ministry for creating conditions for Vietnamese officers to study military medicine and electronic technology in the country.
For the bilateral cooperation in the future, the Vietnamese general suggested that Vietnam and France should continue implementing a more effective defence cooperation, according to the signed defence cooperation agreement, through increasing the exchange of all-level delegations, maintaining the annual meeting of the Joint Defence Committee, promoting exchanges between strategic research institutions, sharing experiences in UN peacekeeping operations and exchanging training.
The Vietnamese general also hoped that France will continue its support for Vietnam’s bid to join the International Hydrographic Organisation.
Regarding coordination at multilateral forums, Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty said that with its foreign policy of openness and active international integration, Vietnam wishes to strengthen cooperation with France in regional and international multilateral forums to maintain a peaceful and stable environment in the region and the world together.
According to the Vietnamese general, Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge for France to broaden its relations with ASEAN member states.
Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty strongly believed that the above-mentioned cooperation contents will enable the bilateral defence cooperation to make new development steps, meeting the mutual interests of the two countries.
Admiral Edouard Guillaud highly appreciated Vietnam’s role in the Asia-Pacific region in general and ASEAN in particular. He said he appreciates the ties between Vietnam and France, including in defence.
He agreed with the suggestions for future cooperation within the framework of the agreement between the two defence ministries on defence cooperation.
The French admiral stressed that France applauds Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations, and is willing to share experiences with Vietnam to assist the country during its preparation for the mission.
Moreover, as a founder of the International Hydrographic Organisation, France will back Vietnam to become a member of the organization soon, said the French admiral.
The host also stressed that France supports Vietnam’s viewpoint of settling disputes in the sea by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He confirmed that the effective defence cooperation between the two countries will contribute to ensuring security, peace and stability in the region, as well as the legitimate rights of each nation.
Translated by Ngoc Hung