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General Ngo Xuan Lich receives UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie. |
At the reception, Ms. Goldie informed General Ngo Xuan Lich of the results of the second defense policy dialogue that was held on the same day. She affirmed that the dialogue succeeded, touching a wide range of issues, including regional safety and security, cooperation in joining UN peacekeeping operations, hydrography, and training. The two sides also discussed the role of Vietnam in ASEAN and shared common targets and mutual concerns.
Showing appreciation towards the results of the dialogue, General Lich thanked the UK for training Vietnamese military officers and supporting Vietnam in deploying forces to UN peacekeeping missions. He held that there still remains much room for defense cooperation in particular and bilateral relations between Vietnam and the UK in general to develop. He hoped that in the coming time the two sides would further boost cooperation in a substantial, efficient, and mutually-beneficial manner.
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General Ngo Xuan Lich presents a souvenir to UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie. |
* Earlier, on the morning of the same day, the UK and Vietnamese military delegations, led by Ms. Goldie and Deputy Defense Minister, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, joined the second Vietnam-UK defense policy dialogue.
At the dialogue, the two sides evaluated the outcomes of their defense cooperation after the first dialogue and affirmed that defense cooperation between Vietnam and the UK has seen many positive developments, especially in such areas as delegation exchange, UN peacekeeping operations, training, defense industry, and hydrography.
To further develop bilateral defense cooperation and making it a pillar in the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership, both delegations agreed to increase the number of delegation exchanges at all levels, especially at the high-ranking level. They also laid stress on enhancing experience sharing in areas of mutual concern, such as military medicine, UN peacekeeping operations, and young officer exchange.
General Vinh said that Vietnam wishes to enhance cooperation with the UK in its participation in UN peacekeeping operations and hoped the UK continues to provide more support for Vietnam in deploying its Level-two Field Hospital Rotation 2 and Engineer Company to the UN Mission in South Sudan.
Vietnam and the UK agreed to continue upgrading their existing cooperation mechanisms and implementing signed contents. The Vietnamese general suggested the UK keep providing and expanding English language training for Vietnamese military officers. Vietnam also expects to receive British military officers to the country for short training courses.
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At the second Vietnam-UK defense policy dialogue |
The two sides will also promote cooperation and support each other at multilateral forums. General Vinh proposed that the UK shares experiences with Vietnam in cooperation in defense and other areas with the EU. Vietnam is also willing to support the UK’s active participation in regional security mechanisms, including ADMM+.
At the end of the dialogue, the Vietnamese and UK delegations agreed to develop defense cooperation into a pillar in the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership.
Translated by Huu Duong