PANO - The Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense co-held a conference on August 17 in Hanoi to review defense external relations in the 2010-2015 period and two years of implementing the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 806-NQ/QUTW on international integration and defense relations until 2020.

Present at the event were Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich, Defense Minister and Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission; Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Defense Minister and Permanent Member of the Military Central Commission; leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff and the General Department of Politics; and 250 delegates from units across the army.

Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich addressing the event

According to the summary report at the conference, the defense external relations work saw increasing developments and obtained significant achievements over the last time. It has closely followed the resolutions of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 10th Military Party Congress while actively promoting bilateral defense cooperation with other nations and accelerating multilateral cooperation mechanism among ASEAN member countries. The work, as part of the performance of the Party's and State's foreign policies, has contributed to firmly protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the nation's and people's benefits as well as improving the country's position in the region and the world.

Over the past five years, the defense external relations have seen a number of achievements, with the active and proactive participation of the Ministry of National Defense in multilateral defense cooperation mechanisms within the framework of ASEAN. In addition, the ministry has effectively participated in the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the 2014-2020 period. It has also crafted policies and legal documents relating to defense external relations, while focusing on the research on strategies in the field.

Scene of the conference

Addressing the conference, General Lich stated that the consistent goal of international integration and defense external relations is to safeguard the country’s independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, as well as national interests and a peaceful environment for development. He asked officials in charge of defense external affairs to strengthen strategic research and forecast; considering defense external relations as a strategic orientation and a solution to protecting the country. Defense units and agencies should focus on promoting relations with countries of strategic partnership and comprehensive partnership with Vietnam on the basis of ensuring independence, sovereignty, mutual respect, equality and shared benefits, and for the interests of each country as well as for peace, stability and development in the region and the world, he said. He also requested closer coordination with other ministries and sectors in making plans and policies in the field as well as conducting defense external relations activities, while boosting communications work to popularize the image of the Vietnam People’s Army to international friends, thus clarifying the defense policy of the Party and State.

Translated by Trung Thanh and VNA