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General Giang talks with Philippine ambassador Montealegre. |
At the reception, General Giang congratulated the Philippine diplomat on his new appointment as the Philippine ambassador to Vietnam. He expressed his belief that the diplomat would excellently complete his assignments and make contributions to consolidating and enhancing the Vietnam - the Philippines strategic partnership in general and the bilateral defense ties in particular.
For his part, Ambassador Montealegre thanked the Vietnamese general for the reception. He took the chance to congratulate General Giang on his appointment as Vietnamese Defense Minister and believed that the Vietnamese general would effectively and practically contribute to developing the two countries’ relations and bilateral defense cooperation.
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The Vietnamese Defense Minister (R) presents a gift to the Philippine diplomat. |
General Giang spoke highly of the Philippine military’s contributions to and support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and in ensuring national security in the Philippines.
He also highlighted the fine development in the two countries’ relationship and cooperation, adding that their bilateral relations have been raised to a new stage of development.
Noting that this year the two countries will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, the Vietnamese general hoped that the two sides will organize more practical activities to mark the important landmark.
He emphasized that Vietnam’s new leadership will maintain the current foreign policy with a consistent viewpoint of attaching importance to developing the country’s fruitful relations and cooperation with neighboring and regional countries, including the Philippines. He underscored that the Philippines’s active and proactive engagement in fostering collaboration among ASEAN member states has boosted intra-bloc solidarity and friendship and raised the bloc’s role and status in the region and around the globe.
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A joint photo of Sr. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Philippine ambassador Montealegre and other delegates |
At the meeting, the host and guest highly valued the outcomes of the implementation of the agreement on bilateral defense cooperation signed by the two defense ministries. They agreed that the bilateral defense ties have developed in an intensive manner and reaped practical outcomes in delegation exchanges, dialogues, consultations, personnel training, multilateral cooperation frameworks, and the settlement of fishing-related issues in a humanitarian spirit and in line with international law.
Facing the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides proposed organizing online events, including the defense policy dialogue, meeting of the joint working groups on defense cooperation, and consultations between the two navies and air forces.
Translated by Mai Huong