During the event, General Phan Van Giang emphasized that this was General Secretary and State President To Lam’s second official visit to France since 2024, reflecting the strong political determination of the two countries’ senior leaders to further deepen and make their comprehensive strategic partnership more substantive and effective.
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General Phan Van Giang and Minister Catherine Vautrin sign an agreement between Viet Nam’s MND and the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs on cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping operations. |
He noted that Viet Nam-France defense ties have continued to be strengthened and expanded, with practical and effective cooperation in delegation exchanges and senior-level meetings; strategic dialogue and Deputy Defense Minister-level defense cooperation mechanisms; military medicine; education and training; search and rescue; U.N. peacekeeping operations; maritime cooperation; and defense industry.
General Phan Van Giang thanked the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs for providing Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) with scholarships in 2025 and 2026 in fields that meet its needs. France has also supported Viet Nam in strengthening the capabilities of its U.N. peacekeeping forces through training, regular deployment of experts to the Viet Nam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and assistance in deploying Vietnamese officers to the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic.
Minister Catherine Vautrin affirmed France’s high regard for its comprehensive strategic partnership with Viet Nam. The two sides share longstanding historical and cultural ties and seek to strengthen sustainable strategic trust. France is ready to accompany Viet Nam, support each other’s strategic ideas and initiatives, and work together to strengthen strategic autonomy.
She welcomed the continued development of bilateral defense cooperation, an important pillar of Viet Nam-France relations, in a practical and effective manner, in line with agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders and defense ministries and with signed cooperation documents.
General Phan Van Giang called on France to continue providing Viet Nam with undergraduate and postgraduate training, internships, training courses, and opportunities to attend seminars and conferences. He also proposed that France continue sending experts to provide technical assistance and teaching support at the Viet Nam Department of Peacekeeping Operations and coordinate in holding training courses in Viet Nam.
He added that Viet Nam’s MND is ready to receive French military personnel for international defense officials’ courses and Vietnamese-language courses, as well as military medical trainees for internships at Vietnamese military hospitals. General Phan Van Giang also welcomed a delegation from the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs to attend the third Viet Nam Defense Expo in Hanoi this December.
General Phan Van Giang also proposed that France accelerate the signing of a memorandum of understanding on searching for Vietnamese and French service members who are missing or unaccounted for and exchanging war memorabilia. The agreement would establish a framework for cooperation in this humanitarian field and contribute to the "500-day campaign to accelerate the search, collection and identification of martyrs’ remains," which the Vietnamese Government is implementing toward the 80th anniversary of Wounded Soldiers and Martyrs’ Day (July 27, 1947 - 2027).
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The two ministers at the event |
At the talks, the two sides agreed to further deepen bilateral defense cooperation, focusing on increasing exchanges of delegations at all levels, particularly high-level delegations; maintaining effective consultation, strategic dialogue and defense cooperation mechanisms; and promoting cooperation in training, U.N. peacekeeping operations and the defense industry. They also exchanged views on the global and regional situation and issues of mutual concern.
At the conclusion of the talks, General Phan Van Giang and Minister Catherine Vautrin signed an agreement between Viet Nam’s MND and the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs on cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Translated by Tran Hoai