During the meeting, General Phan Van Giang expressed his delight at the positive development of the Vietnam - Canada comprehensive partnership, which continues to grow in depth and substance across multiple fields. Based on existing agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation in 2019 and the Three-Year Defense Cooperation Plan for the 2024-2026 period, bilateral defense ties have been effectively implemented in areas such as delegation exchanges, dialogue and consultations, training, U.N. peacekeeping operations, defense industry cooperation, and maritime security.
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General Phan Van Giang and Ambassador James Nickel review Vietnam - Canada relations and bilateral defense cooperation. |
Through Ambassador James Nickel, General Phan Van Giang thanked Canada’s Department of National Defense for providing numerous overseas short-term training scholarships under the Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP) for cadets and officers of the Vietnam People’s Army in areas relevant to Vietnam's needs. He also affirmed that Vietnam’s MND stands ready to welcome Canadian military personnel to study the Vietnamese language and participate in the International Defense Officials’ Course at Vietnamese military academies and schools.
The Vietnamese Defense Minister expressed his desire that Ambassador James Nickel would continue facilitating cooperation between the two defense ministries in implementing agreed activities, with a focus on exchanges at all levels, particularly senior-level visits, training, U.N. peacekeeping, search and rescue, cybersecurity, border management, war legacy settlement, and consultations within multilateral defense and security frameworks.
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General Phan Van Giang presents a souvenir to Ambassador James Nickel. |
General Phan Van Giang also reaffirmed the Vietnamese MND’s commitment to supporting Ambassador James Nickel throughout his tenure in Vietnam. He invited the ambassador to attend the third Vietnam Defense Expo, scheduled for December this year, and noted that invitations had already been extended to Canada’s defense leadership. Vietnam is also ready to facilitate the participation of Canadian companies seeking to showcase products and explore cooperation opportunities at the expo.
For his part, Ambassador James Nickel expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s stable development and growing prosperity under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the new era. He highly valued Vietnam’s important role within ASEAN and its increasing standing on the international stage.
The ambassador also praised the progress of the Vietnam - Canada comprehensive partnership, noting that defense cooperation remains one of its key pillars and has achieved positive results. Emphasizing the significant potential for further collaboration, he affirmed his commitment to promoting deeper and more effective cooperation between the two defense ministries and the two countries, particularly in training, defense industry cooperation, and U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Translated by Tran Hoai