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General Phan Van Giang meets Lt. Gen. Adul Boonthumjaroen. |
During his meeting with Lt. Gen. Adul Boonthumjaroen, General Phan Van Giang congratulated him on his recent appointment as Thailand’s defense minister and expressed confidence that he would continue to strengthen the Thai Ministry of Defense and contribute to the development of the Vietnam - Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The Thai Defense Minister expressed delight at the broad and comprehensive growth of bilateral relations over the past five decades since Vietnam and Thailand established diplomatic ties. He noted that defense cooperation between the two countries has been effectively implemented through high-level exchanges, defense policy dialogue and consultation mechanisms, cooperation between arms and services and maritime law enforcement forces, and training.
General Phan Van Giang proposed that the two sides continue expanding cooperation through delegation exchanges at all levels, maintaining the deputy minister-level Defense Policy Dialogue, strengthening coordination among maritime law enforcement forces, and enhancing cooperation in border management, combating transnational crime, logistics, military medicine, search and rescue, cybersecurity, and United Nations peacekeeping operations.
He also invited leaders of Thailand’s Ministry of Defense, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, and Thai defense companies to attend the third Vietnam Defense Expo, scheduled to be held in Hanoi in December 2026.
In his meeting with French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Catherine Vautrin, General Phan Van Giang emphasized that, based on the Letter of Intent signed in May 2025, the two countries would focus on expanding cooperation through exchanges at all levels; strengthening the Strategic Dialogue and Defense Cooperation mechanism; promoting collaboration in military medicine, hydrography, training, historical memory, the search for military personnel missing in action, exchanges of wartime memorabilia, search and rescue, maritime security, border protection, and United Nations peacekeeping operations; and continuing coordination and mutual support at regional and global security forums.
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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang meets Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans. |
The French minister voiced a desire to further strengthen defense cooperation, contributing more effectively to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between France and Vietnam.
During the meeting with New Zealand Defense Minister Chris Penk, General Phan Van Giang called for increased high-level exchanges and continued implementation of regular consultation and dialogue mechanisms. He also proposed deeper cooperation in training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, maritime security, cybersecurity, military medicine, and the defense industry, while enhancing coordination within multilateral defense and security frameworks, particularly the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense welcomed New Zealand’s continued participation in Vietnamese-language training programs and the International Defense Officials Course in Vietnam.
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Defense Minister Phan Van Giang meets Chris Penk, Minister of Defense of New Zealand. |
Later on May 30, General Phan Van Giang also met on the sidelines of the dialogue with RoK Defense Minister Ahn Gyu Back and representatives from defense ministries attending the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue.
On the occasion, he invited defense ministers, military leaders, and defense enterprises from participating countries to attend the third Vietnam Defense Expo in Hanoi in December 2026.
Translated by Tran Hoai