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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang reviews the Indian Guards-of-Honor. |
The talks was held right after an official welcome ceremony hosted by Minister Rajnath Singh for General Phan Van Giang and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense who are on an official visit to the country from June 17-20.
At the event, General Giang expressed his delight at meeting the Indian counterpart again on the occasion of the Vietnamese delegation’s official visit to India.
The Vietnamese defense chief said that the talks was an opportunity for the two sides to discuss orientations to further develop the bilateral defense ties, an important and strategic pillar in the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India, for the benefit of the people of each country and for peace and stability in the region and the world.
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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang (right) and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh before the talks |
On the occasion, Minister Giang sent deep condolences to the victims and relatives of those affected in the recent serious train crash in the Indian state of Odisha.
Warmly welcoming his Vietnamese counterpart, Minister Rajnath Singh stressed that the guest’s visit will help tighten the friendship between the two peoples and militaries.
He confirmed that Vietnam is an important partner in India’s Act East policy and spoke highly of the comprehensive development in the two countries’ cooperation in politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, defense-security, culture, education-training and people-to-people exchanges.
The chief of the Indian defense force emphasized that India wants to strengthen its comprehensive cooperation ties with Vietnam, including national defense.
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Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh hosts his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang (right). |
Both ministers underlined the two countries’ time-honored relationship.
Confirming that India is always a reliable and close friend of Vietnam, Gen. Giang took the occasion to express thanks to the Indian government and people for their great support for their Vietnamese counterparts in the past struggle for national independence and the present renewal cause.
During the talks, the two officials agreed that the defense cooperation between Vietnam and India has been paid due attention to promotion and carried out in line with the signed cooperation frameworks, documents and agreements. They highlighted practical outcomes in exchange of delegations, especially high level ones, effective implementation of consultation and dialogue mechanisms, cooperation in training, between arms and services, in defense industry, U.N. peacekeeping operations, strategic research, among others.
On the basis of the Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam - India Defense Partnership towards 2030 and in line with the two countries’ traditional friendship, comprehensive strategic partnership, the two ministers consented to promote the cooperative ties in exchanging all-level delegations to boost the two sides’ trust, understanding and cooperation; maintaining and raising effectiveness of the present cooperation mechanisms such as defense policy dialogue at deputy minister level, consultation with staff officers of the army, naval, and air forces, and exchange of young officers. They agreed to enhance cooperation in training, U.N. peacekeeping operations, defense industry, and between arms and services and consider further cooperation in such fields of potential as cyber security, military medicine, search and rescue according to each side’s need and capacity.
In terms of multilateral cooperation, the two sides assessed that India and Vietnam have similar views on many regional and international issues, closely coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums, particularly within the framework of the U.N. and ASEAN mechanisms of which India is a partner such as the ASEAN - India Summit and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) which India is an active member.
Regarding the East Sea (South China Sea) issue, the two sides shared the view on settling disputes by peaceful measure, and respecting the diplomatic and legal processes in line with the principles of international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
Reported by Ngoc Ha from New Delhi, India
Translated by Mai Huong