PANO – On June 5th, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, General Ngo Xuan Lich, chaired a ceremony to receive a high-ranking delegation of the Indian Ministry of Defence, led by its Minister Manohar Parrika, at the Vietnamese Ministry’s headquarters. The Indian delegation is on their four-day friendly visit to Vietnam, which will end on June 8th, at the invitation of the Vietnamese Defence Minister.

At the talks held right after the reception, the two sides stressed positive developments and practical and concrete outcomes in bilateral defence cooperation over the past years.

In an open and friendly spirit, they exchanged views on international and regional issues and the developments of each country in order to provide more understanding of each country, and strengthen friendly ties and mutual trust between the two peoples and armies as well as foster bilateral defence ties in the coming time. The two sides believed that defence ties in particular should be enhance in the future in line with the Vietnam-India Strategic Partnership, contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole.  

General Ngo Xuan Lich and Mr. Manohar Parrika reviewing the guard of honor of the Vietnam People's Army

Also at the talks, both sides assessed their coordination and cooperation in regional multilateral forums, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus mechanisms, the ASEN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

They agreed to continue bolstering bilateral defence cooperation in personnel training, navy, air defence - air force, signal, defence industry and peacekeeping operations.

Confirming that Vietnam is an important partner of India in the region, the Indian Minister of Defence said that India wants to develop its friendly cooperation ties with Vietnam for interests of the two peoples.

For his part, General Ngo Xuan Lich affirmed India is a Vietnam’s close friend and important partner, adding that Vietnam always priotises its comprehensive relations with India and supports India’s Look East policy.

Regarding the coming cooperation orientations, the two ministers reached consensus on the continuity of developing defence ties in a deep manner, focusing on the contents of the Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam-India Defence Cooperation for the 2015-2020 Period and considering the defence ties one of the major pillars of the Vietnam-India Strategic Partnership with a concentration on the fields mentioned above.

During its visit to Vietnam, the Indian delegation will pay courtesy calls to Vietnam’s senior leaders, attend a meeting of Vietnam-India defence industry enterprizes and visit some local army units.

Translated by Mai Huong

Vietnam and India have long-lasting friendly ties. Both countries have actively supported each other in international and regional issues. Moreover, the two nations have a lot of similarities and common goals on growth and socio-economic development. Both have confronted with similar challenges and had a joint vision on development and cooperation in different areas.

In July 2007, the senior leaders of the two countries agreed to lift their bilateral ties into a strategic partnership. Last May, the two Ministers of Defence signed the Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam-India Defence Cooperation for the 2015-2020 Period.