Attending the talks at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Hanoi were Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics Sr. Lt. Gen. Tran Quang Phuong, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh, and other leaders from functional agencies under the Vietnamese MND.
During the phone talks, General Chansamone Chanyalath sent congratulations to the Vietnamese MND’s leaders and Vietnamese troops on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2). The Lao defense minister highly valued the phone call, saying that it demonstrated the two countries’ mutual trust, activeness, timely sharing of situational developments, and common response perceptions in the context that the world and regional security has been developing complicatedly, and the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the globe.
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Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich chairing the event |
The Lao general emphasized that Laos treasures its great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam. He took this chance to thank the MND of Vietnam and its affiliates for their support of the Lao People’s Armed Forces in different fields as well as for sharing COVID-19 experiences and providing medical supplies.
He also congratulated the Vietnamese MND on having successfully organized ASEAN military-defense meetings in the framework of ASEAN Year 2020 amid the complex COVID-19 development.
For his part, General Lich affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its relations with Laos and the country will continue to share experiences with and support Laos in effectively combating COVID-19 and improving its military’s capacity. Lich believed that under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and State, Laos will reap more achievements and reach its set goals in the resolution of the 10th Party Congress.
Both generals expressed their delight at the good results in bilateral defense ties in the past time. Despite complicated developments in the region and world, the two militaries’ relations have continuously developed, contributing to each country’s defense and security stability and socio-economic development and deserving to be an important pillar in the two nations’ relationship.
During the talks, both defense leaders emphasized the effective implementation of contents of the two defense ministries’ cooperation plans for 2020. They also highlighted the mutual support in COVID-19 preventive efforts, showing the two defense ministries’ flexibility, timely actions and pro-activeness in response to situational developments and their determination to not let the pandemic affect their bilateral defense cooperation.
Regarding the two sides’ cooperation in the time ahead, they agreed to double check and direct each country’s MND’s affiliates to effectively carry out cooperation agreements signed by senior leaders of the two Parties and States and the cooperation plan for 2020 between the two defense ministries.
They also reached consensus on raising the efficiency of the cooperation mechanisms, including the defense policy dialogues at the deputy defense ministerial level.
What the two militaries need to enhance includes the close coordination between the border management and protection forces to control transnational crimes and drug trafficking; joint patrols at border gates and paths to prevent illegal immigration; sharing military building experience; and further cooperation in information dissemination and personnel training. This cooperation will help maintain political stability, social order, and safety in each country.
Also at the talks, the two sides expressed mutual support for multilateral defense cooperation forums in the ASEAN framework and other ASEAN-centric mechanisms.
The Lao general stressed Laos’ support for and close coordination with Vietnam - the ASEAN Chair 2020 in successfully organizing upcoming events, including the ASEAN Chief of Defense Forces’ Meeting, the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM+.
Translated by Mai Huong