Speaking at the handover ceremony, Colonel Le Van Dong, Deputy Director of the Department of Military Medicine under the General Department of Logistics emphasised that since Vietnam and Australia established diplomatic relations in 1973, bilateral relations have increasingly developed.

Cooperation on malaria prevention and control is one of the bright spots in the Vietnam-Australia military medical partnership, a testament to the effective collaboration between the two countries in general and the two armies in particular for common benefits, he said, elaborating that it helps improve the capacity in treatment and protection of the two countries' military personnel against vector-borne infectious diseases.

Dong also thanked Australia for accompanying the Department of Military Medicine in recent times to effectively carry out cooperation and research projects on malaria, contributing to enhancing professional qualifications and foreign language for Vietnamese military medical staff, and toward eliminating malaria nationwide by 2030 as targeted in the Government’s National Programme.

On this occasion, Dong expressed his hope that the two countries' ministries of Defence continue to expand cooperation on infectious diseases in general and malaria in particular.

For his part, Australian defense attaché to Vietnam Colonel Michael Jansen said military medical cooperation between Australia and Vietnam is an important pillar in the cooperative relationship between the two countries' militaries.

The Australian side thanked Vietnam for agreeing to cooperate with Australia in the field of malaria prevention and control research, he said, adding that it will benefit both countries in general and the two armies in particular.

A memorandum of understanding on a malaria cooperation project between the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence and the Australian Department of Defence was signed in Hanoi in March 2000./.VNA