Present at the event were also Lieutenant General Ngo Minh Tien, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, and Russian Ambassador to Vietnam K.V. Vnukov.
At the dialogue, the two sides held that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia has been expanded, especially in the defense sphere. General Vinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Defense Ministry always attaches much importance to the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
For his part, General Fomin stated that Vietnam is a time-honored friend and a comprehensive strategic partner of the Russian Federation.
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Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (R) and Colonel General Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin |
The two senior defense officials shared the same view that the relationship has been effectively enhanced in accordance with of the Vietnam-Russian inter-governmental agreement on defense cooperation, particularly in areas such as delegation exchange, training, military techniques, and collaboration at multilateral forums.
The two defense ministries have coordinated to organize activities for the Vietnam-Russia Cross Year 2019-2020, and on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on basic principles for Vietnam-Russia friendship (1994-2019) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations (1950-2020).
The two sides discussed and agreed on approaches to continue boosting the defense ties in accordance with the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, especially in scientific research at the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center.
They also committed to closely collaborate with each other when Vietnam will play its roles as the ASEAN chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 tenure.
During the dialogue, the two deputy defense ministers exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, emphasizing on the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).
Speaking at the meeting, General Fomin thanked the Vietnamese Defense Ministry for its support and participation to the Moscow Conference on International Security, the International Army Games and other multilateral activities hosted by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2019. Also, he spoke highly of the achievements made by teams of the Vietnam People’s Army at the 2019 International Army Games.
On the other hand, the Russian deputy defense minister highlighted ASEAN’s central role in the security structures in the Asia-Pacific region. He expressed his hope that Vietnam, as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, will support the Russian Federation to play a more effective role in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+). He also reaffirmed that the Russian Defense Ministry will actively assist and take part in military and defense activities hosted by the Vietnamese Defense Ministry next year.
On this occasion, General Fomin and the Russian high-ranking defense delegation also laid wreaths at the Memorial for Fallen Soldiers of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and visited Cam Ranh International Port.
Translated by Trung Thanh