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Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang at the phone talk |
During the talk, the Vietnamese defense chief sincerely thanked the Government and people of New Zealand for supporting Vietnamese localities in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
General Giang informed that the Government of Vietnam has developed a road-map on gradually reopening border to adapt to the new normal condition, creating more favorable conditions for Vietnam to develop its defense ties with other countries, including New Zealand.
For his part, New Zealand Minister of Defense Peeni Henare expressed his delight at the phone talk with his Vietnamese counterpart, confirming that it was a good chance for the two sides to review the outcomes of the bilateral defense cooperation and map out cooperation contents in the time ahead.
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The two defense ministers at the phone talk (Photo: Screenshot) |
During the talk, both officials emphasized that despite certain impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam and New Zealand have maintained and enhanced the bilateral defense ties according to the signed agreement and in line with the two countries’ strategic partnership for the common benefits of each country and the region.
They spoke highly of the two defense ministries’ efforts to maintain high level exchanges and contacts, including the defense policy dialogue held virtually in December 2020 and this phone talk.
They agreed that there is much room for the bilateral defense ties to develop. Therefore, in the coming time, on the basis of the signed memorandum of understanding on defense ties, the two sides will continue to actively devise cooperation plans and be ready to carry out them in suitable forms and in the context that conditions allow.
They consented to increasing delegation exchanges and contacts, especially the high-level ones, considering the establishment of dialogue channels between defense officials and scholars, enhancing personnel training, cooperating in cyber security, exchange of learning, search and rescue, medical studies on contagious diseases, among others.
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A view of the talk in Hanoi |
They also reached agreement on effectively carrying out a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The two defense ministers suggested an early building of three-year long cooperation plan for the 2022-2025 period, so that they could actively develop defense ties in line with the strategic partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand.
In terms of multilateral cooperation, the Vietnamese defense minister highly appreciated the role and contribution of the Ministry of Defense of New Zealand to ASEAN-led multilateral mechanisms on defense and security, especially the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
General Giang also voiced Vietnam’s support for New Zealand to strengthen ASEAN - New Zealand strategic partnership, including the effective implementation of the 2021-2025 action plan on defense-security cooperation.
Translated by Mai Huong