Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang on July 18 received Admiral Kawano Katsutoshi, Chief of Joint Staff of the Japan Self Defence Forces (JSDF).

Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang.

At the reception, Lieut. Gen. Giang emphasised relationship between Vietnam and Japan in general and bilateral defence cooperation in particular have seen steps of development over the past time.

He expressed his hope that the General Staff of Vietnam and the JSDF Joint Staff will continue promoting bilateral cooperation programmes in the fields of United Nations peacekeeping missions, search and rescue at sea, natural disaster response and education and training.

For his part, Admiral Kawano Katsutoshi expressed his deep sympathy over the recent accidents of jet fighter Su-30MK2 and aircraft CASA 212 to the Vietnamese army.

He said he hoped that the JSDF Joint Staff and the General Staff of Vietnam will continue cooperating in delegation exchanges and experience sharing in search and rescue, contributing to promoting peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

VNA