On June 13 in Berlin, General Vinh met with Dr. Tauber. At their talks, they exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern and informed each other of security situations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
The host held that Germany directly benefits from the Asia-Pacific region’s stability and development, particularly in maritime, navigation, and aviation freedom and security.
General Vinh and Dr. Tauber reviewed the bilateral defense cooperation over the past time in the fields of personnel training, military medicine, and UN peacekeeping operations.
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and Dr. Peter Tauber, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense of Germany. Photo: VNA. |
The Vietnamese general held that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense has approved Germany’s resident defense attaché to Hanoi, adding that Germany’s first-time appointment of a permanent defense attaché to the country demonstrates a new development in the bilateral defense relations and serves as a foundation for Vietnam and Germany to further expand cooperation and promote mutual understanding in the time to come.
The Vietnamese delegation and the host discussed measures to foster the bilateral defense relations in the subsequent years as a strategic partner of each other. Especially, the year of 2020 will see the 45th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Germany diplomatic ties, Vietnam’s Chairman of ASEAN, and the European Union (EU) presidency by Germany.
Accordingly, they will focus on considering the possibility to sign a memorandum of understanding on bilateral defense cooperation, accelerating the establishment of a deputy ministerial-level defense policy dialogue mechanism, and further deepening the two sides’ current cooperation in military medicine, personnel training, UN peacekeeping operations, defense industry, and war consequence settlement.
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The Vietnamese delegation visits the Combat Training Center of the German Army (GÜZ). Photo: VNA. |
As for multilateral relations, Germany wants to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia and is interested in the regional security structures. Germany also welcomes Vietnam to soon become a defense partner of the EU for the sake of peace, stability, and development of Vietnam and Germany as well as for peace, stability, and development in these regions and all over the world.
General Vinh also conveyed the invitation of General Ngo Xuan Lich, Vietnamese Minister of National Defense, to Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, German Minister of Defense, to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.
The general also thanked the German side for its warm reception of the Vietnamese delegation in Germany.
During their visit, the Vietnamese delegates had other working sessions with leaders of the German Federal Ministry of Defense and Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and had a field trip to the Combat Training Center of the German Army (GÜZ) and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) Germany.
Translated by Van Hieu