Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev emphasised the need for regional countries to maintain peace and stability, and heighten the role of multilateral cooperation mechanisms and international law in addressing the region’s issues.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh(R) welcomes Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev.

At their meeting in Hanoi on March 15, Patrushev informed the host of the outcomes of his working sessions with Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang and Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh on issues related to bilateral relations, ASEAN-Russia cooperation and the situation in Asia-Pacific.

Minh, who is also Foreign Minister, affirmed that Vietnam continually attaches importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia.

Appreciating cooperation in security between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Russia’s Security Council, he said he is satisfied with positive results of the two countries’ ties in politics, economics, trade, defence-security, education-training and culture.

Both sides agreed to actively implement measures to further boost multi-faceted cooperation and closely coordinate in enforcing the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union once it comes into effect, in order to increase the efficiency of the two sides’ economic and trade cooperation.

They also appreciated collaboration between Russia and ASEAN, hoping that the ASEAN-Russia Summit to be held in Sochi in May will be a success, contributing to improving their dialogue partnership, for their own interests and for peace and stability in Asia-Pacific and the world.

Defence Minister hosts Secretary of Russia’s Security Council

Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh hosted a reception for Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia in Hanoi on March 15.

Welcoming his guest, Minister Thanh hailed the active and effective cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Defence and the Security Council of Russia, notably in training, border security and information security, over the past years.

He also thanked the council for providing scholarships for Vietnamese military officers to study at its academies.

For his part, Secretary Patrushev said he hopes that the long-standing ties between the two countries would develop further, following the Memorandum of Understanding between the two ministries of defence inked in 2013.

The Russian official will have a working session with the Ministry of Public Security to discuss the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the ministry and Russia’s Security Council during his two-day visit on March 15-16.

VNA