Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev reads out President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to the 8th Moscow Conference on International Security on April 24

The delegation is led by Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang – Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence. They are among more than 1,000 delegates from 111 countries and international organisations to the event.

The conference from April 23 to 25 focuses on current security challenges and threats at global and regional levels, terrorist threats, new approaches and cooperation in military and regional security in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Vietnamese delegation will attend all the four plenums and four special sessions of the event.

At the opening ceremony, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev read out President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to the conference.

In his message, Putin said the conference brings together heads of defence agencies, representatives of the supreme commands of the armed forces, heads of international organisations and leading experts from different countries to discuss the most acute problems and challenges that the international community is facing. The high interest in the forum is confident proof of its status as a respected and widely recognised international discussion platform in the field of security.

This year, the focus will be on a number of highly relevant current issues, including assistance in restoring and normalising life in Syria and Iraq after the defeat of terrorist groups, as well as development prospects for Africa and the Middle East.

In the greetings, the Russian President shows his belief that this conference will be held in a constructive manner, serve as a weighty contribution to the consolidation of efforts in the fight against terrorism and extremism, in resolving regional conflicts and ensuring global security, and in carrying out highly relevant peacekeeping missions.

Participants in the opening ceremony also heard speeches delivered by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Vladimir Norov, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

The speeches underlined growing global and regional security challenges. They shared the view that only cooperation in the constructive and united spirit can resolve the problems.-VNA