Defense minister receives Australian ambassador

General Giang affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to its relationship with Australia, stressing that defense cooperation is a key pillar of bilateral ties.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang (right) receives Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Gillian Bird.

He noted with satisfaction that bilateral defense cooperation has continued to develop effectively and substantively on the basis of the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and the 2018 Joint Vision Statement on Enhancing Defense Cooperation. Cooperation has focused on a wide range of areas, including delegation exchanges, dialogue and consultations, training, United Nations peacekeeping, information and experience sharing between services and arms, war legacy settlement, and multilateral defense cooperation, particularly within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM+).

The Vietnamese defense chief expressed his hope that both sides will further deepen existing areas of cooperation while expanding collaboration into other potential fields. Priority areas include delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones; search and rescue operations; cooperation between border guard and coast guard forces; training; U.N. peacekeeping; defense industry; war legacy remediation; and consultation and mutual support at regional defense cooperation mechanisms, particularly ADMM+.

An overview of the meeting

The minister emphasized that the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam welcomes Australia's proposal to send experts to Vietnam in 2026 to exchange experience in utilizing both countries’ databases related to Vietnamese soldiers in wartime.  The initiative is expected to contribute to the 500-day campaign launched by the Vietnamese Government to accelerate the search for, collection and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains.

On the occasion, General Giang extended a cordial invitation to leaders of the Australian Department of Defense and Australian defense enterprises to attend the third Vietnam Defense Expo, scheduled to take place later this year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Gillian Bird, and other delegates pose for a group photo.

For her part, Ambassador Gillian Bird highly valued the Australia - Vietnam relationship in general and cooperation between the two defense ministries in particular. She expressed her satisfaction with the positive outcomes achieved in bilateral defense cooperation. She voiced her hope that Australia and Vietnam would further strengthen bilateral relations and practical and effective bilateral defense cooperation, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Translated by Mai Huong