At the meeting, the Vietnamese defense leader thanked Arnold H. Kammel for attending the ceremony which was one of the defense cooperation activities between Vietnam and the E.U., in line with the Framework Participation Agreement (FPA) for Vietnam’s participation in crisis management activities of the E.U. signed in October 2019 and the Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation between Vietnam and the E.U.
Gen. Chien evaluated that leaders of Vietnam and the E.U. have paid due attention to fostering the bilateral defense ties. He emphasized that the cooperation in this field has achieved positive results in various areas, such as defense and security dialogues, U.N. peacekeeping operations, and training.
In particular, in the spirit of the FPA, Vietnam deployed its first two officers to the E.U. Training Mission in the Central African Republic in December 2022, and decided to extend their mission for another term. The E.U. has also sent experts to work at the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations to provide consultations, share experience, and support training and deployment activities.
Regarding orientation for cooperation in the coming time, the Vietnamese deputy defense minister suggested the Secretary General of the Federal Minister of Defense of Austria continue to pay attention to and contribute to promoting the bilateral defense cooperation focusing on such areas as delegation exchanges, defense and security dialogues, collaboration between research institutions, cooperation in training, U.N. peacekeeping operations and Vietnam International Defense Expo 2024. He affirmed Vietnam's readiness to receive Austrian military personnel for Vietnamese language training and participation in defense policy research programs at the National Defense Academy.
For his part, Arnold H. Kammel emphasized that cooperation between Vietnam and the E.U. under the framework of the EPA will contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world. He expressed confidence that the debut of the Vietnamese version of the E.U. Handbook on Common Security and Defense Policy will significantly contribute to promoting the effectiveness of cooperation between Vietnam and the E.U.
The guest also affirmed that promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Austria will contribute to the development of the relationship between Vietnam and the E.U. as a whole.
The Austrian Secretary General of the Federal Minister of Defense agreed with Gen. Chien’s suggestions related to orientations for the bilateral cooperation in the future. He also laid stress on the potential for cooperation in education, training, and capacity building in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Translated by Tran Hoai