Vietnamese Defense Minister, General Ngo Xuan Lich made that statement at his meeting with the visiting US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Mr. Randall Schriver on October 4 at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense.
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General Ngo Xuan Lich (R) presents a souvenir to US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Mr. Randall Schriver. |
At the meeting, General Lich hailed the guest’s visit to Vietnam and his participation in the 2018 Vietnam-US Defense Policy Dialogue.
The Vietnamese Defense Minister expressed his delight at the recent flourishing bilateral defense cooperation, considering it an active contribution to consolidating and developing the two countries’ comprehensive partnership.
Earlier the same day, also at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and US Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver co-chaired the 2018 Vietnam-US Defense Policy Dialogue.
The dialogue saw the presence of US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink.
Addressing the dialogue, General Vinh hailed the strong and practical developments in the bilateral defense ties and thanked the US Government and Department of Defense for their effective assistance in providing medical equipment and personnel training for Vietnam’s first military Level-two Field Hospital.
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The Vietnam-US Defense Policy Dialogue |
Reviewing achievements in the bilateral cooperation in overcoming war aftermath, General Vinh held that this remains an important content of future cooperation between the two countries in general and the two militaries in particular.
For his part, Randall Schriver congratulated Vietnam on the recent deployment of its first field hospital to the UN Mission in South Sudan and confirmed that the US Department of Defense is willing to further cooperate with and support Vietnam in the field.
During the meeting, the two sides also talked about regional and international situations of mutual concern and reviewed the outcomes of bilateral defense cooperation over the past time.
The two officials discussed measures to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation signed in 2011, the Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations, the three-year Action Plan for the 2018-2020 period approved during the previous dialogue in 2017 as well as other agreements reached by senior leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and the US Department of Defense.
The two sides also discussed measures to improve the efficiency of the bilateral cooperation in overcoming war consequences, search and rescue, disaster relief, and participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
They mapped out coordination plans when Vietnam undertakes the 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship.
Translated by Mai Huong