At the talks with Australian Defense Minister, Marise Payne, both Defense Ministers spoke highly of their development in the bilateral defense relationship following the "Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation" signed in 2010.

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Vietnamese Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich and his US and ASEAN counterparts posing at 17th Shangri-La Photo: VNA

General Ngo Xuan Lich took this occasion to thank the Australian Defense Ministry for providing English training courses for Vietnamese military doctors and engineers to be sent to UN peacekeeping missions as well as transporting equipment of the Vietnam’s level-two field hospital to South Sudan for their upcoming deployment.

Both General Lich and Japanese Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori appreciated the results of the bilateral defense cooperation over the past years, based on the strengths and needs of each side.

In the coming time, they will further expand these ties in various fields, including delegation exchanges at all levels, addressing consequences left behind from the war in Vietnam, sharing experience in UN peacekeeping operations, natural disaster response, search and rescue, defense industry, military medicine, and the performance of law enforcement forces at sea.

Meanwhile, Minister Lich and French Defense Minister Florence Parly agreed to continuously uphold the present defense cooperation mechanisms as well as seek more cooperation potentials in fields of mutual concern. The Vietnamese Defense Minister held that Vietnam always supports France’s efforts for peace, stability and cooperation in the region and is willing to advocate France’s relationship with ASEAN.

Translated by Minh Anh