At the reception, General Ngo Xuan Lich held that Vietnam and India have witnessed fine developments in the bilateral relations in various fields, including defense cooperation, adding that the visit by General Bipin Rawat to Vietnam will contribute to promoting the friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in general and the bilateral defense ties for the sake of the two peoples and of the peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
For his part, General Bipin Rawat spoke highly of the Vietnam and India time-honored traditional relationship, founded by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and late President Ho Chi Minh and nurtured by generations of leaders and people of both countries.
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General Ngo Xuan Lich (R) receiving General Bipin Rawat |
He informed the host on outcomes of his talks with Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), and said that the Indian Army wants to boost cooperation with the VPA in fields of education and training, defense industry, signal, military medicine, and UN peacekeeping operations.
General Ngo Xuan Lich applauded the outcomes and stressed the need to continue their existing cooperation mechanisms such as deputy ministerial-level defense policy dialogue; working group meeting on bilateral defense cooperation; and consultation between the two countries’ Armies, Navies, and Air Forces.
In addition, both sides should focus on cooperation in personnel training, defense industry, strategic research, and UN peacekeeping operations, he concluded.
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At the talks between Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong and General Bipin Rawat |
* Earlier in the day, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong held talks with General Bipin Rawat.
At the talks, the two generals reviewed the bilateral defense cooperation over the past time, and discussed and made suggestions to foster their cooperation in personnel training, defense industry, strategic research, and UN peacekeeping operations.
During their stay in Vietnam, General Bipin Rawat and his entourage have planned to pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, offer incense to late General Vo Nguyen Giap at his house, visit some VPA’s army units, and tour several historical and cultural sites in Hanoi and Quang Ninh province.
Translated by Van Hieu