Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of National Defense, chaired the event.
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Vietnamese and international delegates perform the flag-salute ceremony. |
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of National Defense, delivers remarks at the ceremony. |
Attending the ceremony on the Vietnamese side were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, representatives of ministries, sectors, and localities accompanying the National Assembly Chairman’s delegation, as well as staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and the newly established Defense Attaché Office in Italy.
On the Italian side, Rear Admiral Gianandrea Buldrini, Deputy Chief for Intelligence and Cyber Security under the Italian Ministry of Defense, attended the event, along with defense attachés from various countries based in Italy.
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Senior Colonel Nguyen Doan Ngoc, Vietnamese Defense Attaché to Italy, speaks at the event. |
Addressing the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien reaffirmed that Vietnam consistently pursues an independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative, and development-oriented foreign policy, while proactively and actively integrating into the international community in a comprehensive and in-depth manner. In recent years, the Vietnam People’s Army has actively promoted international integration and defense diplomacy on both bilateral and multilateral levels, achieving practical results. It has also actively participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations, international cooperation in non-traditional security, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, and post-war recovery efforts, thereby contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
He emphasized that defense diplomacy has become one of the key pillars of Vietnam’s overall foreign affairs, alongside Party diplomacy and State diplomacy, as well as people-to-people diplomacy. It serves as an important channel to build strategic trust, strengthen friendship and cooperation with other countries and international organizations, and enhance Vietnam’s international standing and reputation.
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien meets with defense attachés from various countries in Italy. |
To date, Vietnam has participated in numerous regional and international multilateral defense and military mechanisms, and has established defense cooperation relations with more than 100 countries. Vietnam has set up defense attaché offices or military attaché offices in 38 countries and at the United Nations, while 43 countries have established such offices in Vietnam.
Regarding Italy, bilateral relations were officially established on March 23, 1973, and upgraded to a Strategic Partnership on January 21, 2013. Italy is one of Vietnam’s leading partners in the European Union in terms of trade and cultural cooperation. The two countries maintain regular dialogue mechanisms and support each other at multilateral forums. Notably, both sides are currently working towards upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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Vietnamese and international delegates pose for a joint photo at the ceremony. |
Highlighting the significance of the newly inaugurated office, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien stated that the Vietnam Defense Attaché Office in Italy will serve as a representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and a component of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy. It will perform advisory functions and implement defense diplomacy activities to enhance mutual understanding, promote bilateral defense cooperation, and contribute to further deepening the Vietnam–Italy Strategic Partnership.
He also expressed his hope that leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to direct the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, in coordination with the Italian Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the foreign defense attaché corps in Italy, to support the Defense Attaché Office in fulfilling its mission effectively.
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien poses for a photo with staff of the Vietnamese Defense Attaché Office in Italy and attending delegates. |
Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Colonel Nguyen Doan Ngoc, Vietnamese Defense Attaché to Italy, expressed his honor at the establishment of the office and affirmed his commitment to fulfilling assigned tasks with a high sense of responsibility. He pledged to actively contribute to strengthening mutual understanding, building trust, and promoting defense cooperation between the Vietnam and Italy, as well as supporting the broader diplomatic missions of Vietnam in Italy.
Translated by Song Anh