Meeting between Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan

At his meeting with US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan, both sides said that cooperation between Vietnam and the US has produced practical results that conform with the bilateral comprehensive partnership, thus contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world.

Shanahan stressed that the US welcomes Vietnam’s voice in the region and the world and support the country in successfully assuming the role as ASEAN Chair in 2020. He also spoke highly of Vietnam’s participation in the UN’s peacekeeping missions.

Lich asked the US to continue its cooperation to soon finish a project on dioxin contamination remediation at Bien Hoa airport which was launched in April, and maintain its support for Vietnam’s deployment of a second level-2 field hospital and an engineer company to join the UN's peacekeeping activities.

Both sides agreed to continue intensifying cooperation, with priority given to addressing war aftermaths and maintaining dialogue mechanisms and high-level delegation exchanges.

At Lich’s meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Ron Mark, they reached a consensus on maintaining all-level delegation exchanges, promoting gained achievements and seeking new cooperation opportunities in the fields of training, cybersecurity, search and rescue, and joining UN peacekeeping activities.

The Vietnamese official affirmed that Vietnam, as an active member of ASEAN, supports New Zealand in fostering its collaboration with the bloc, particularly in defence. He suggested the country back Vietnam when it undertakes the role as ASEAN Chair in 2020.

Meeting with UK Secretary of State for Defence Penny Mordaunt, Lich thanked the Department of Defence for helping Vietnam in deploying the first level-2 field hospital in South Sudan and providing English-language training for soldiers who participate in the UN peacekeeping missions.

To make defence ties match with the bilateral strategic partnership, both ministers agreed to step up delegation exchanges, effectively carry out dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, sign new cooperation agreements, maintain mutual support at multilateral forums, and strengthen collaboration in the UN peacekeeping activities.

Lich asked the UK to continue training English language for Vietnamese soldiers, affirming that the Vietnamese Defence Ministry is willing to welcome UK soldiers to join Vietnamese-language and international defence officer courses organised by Vietnam.

At their meeting, Minister Lich and Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Heng were unanimous in speeding up the exchange of delegations and young soldiers, collaborating in military medicine, search and rescue activities and defence industry.

While hosting his French counterpart Florence Parly, Lich affirmed that Vietnam always supports France’s efforts to intensify its cooperation with ASEAN and maintain peace, stability and win-win cooperation in the region.

Both sides agreed to continue workings to increase the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms and seek opportunities in the fields of mutual concern.

Meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Haji Mohamad Sabu, Lich proposed both sides direct law enforcement forces at sea to avoid using violence in addressing fishermen who violate each other’s waters.

The two ministers agreed to effectively use a hotline between the two sides to share information and solve arising incidents quickly to prevent them from harming the bilateral relations.

The Vietnamese minister also had a meeting with his Mongolian counterpart Enkhbold Nyamaa, during which they reached a consensus on continuing cooperation in delegation exchanges, training and participation in the UN peacekeeping missions, and seeking cooperation opportunities in defence industry, military medicine, and logistics.

He also met High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan to discuss measures to boost bilateral defence collaboration.-VNA