Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh (left) and Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How

While in Singapore, Vinh met with Permanent Secretary at the Singaporean Ministry of Defence Chan Heng Kee and Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How.

He informed the hosts that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence has completed preparations for the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Retreat (ADMM Retreat) slated for February 18-20 in Hanoi, with special attention paid to the prevention of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

Apart from ADMM and ADMM Plus (ADMM ) meetings, Vietnam is planning to organise a ceremony marking the 10th founding anniversary of ADMM Plus in 2020 with the participation of defence ministers.

Vinh took the occasion to invite leaders of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence and army to attend a conference on women’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations and an international defence expo to be held in Vietnam for the first time later this year.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Lt. Gen. Le Huy Vinh, who has been joining the delegation, had a meeting with Singaporean Chief of Defence Force Melvyn Ong, during which he conveyed the invitation of Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang to the latter to attend the 17th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting in Vietnam.

At these meetings, the Singaporean officials said the Singaporean Minister of Defence and army leaders are looking forward to attending the ASEAN-related meetings to be hosted by Vietnam.

They affirmed that Singapore supports and will provide as much assistance as possible to help the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence successfully organise all military-defence activities in 2020 when the country serves as ASEAN Chair.

During their stay in Singapore, the Vietnamese delegation also attended the Singapore Airshow 2020, and had working sessions with some local agencies to consult them about the organisation of the international defence expo.

As one of the biggest defence exhibitions in Asia held biennially, the Singapore Airshow 2020 attracted 930 companies from 45 countries worldwide./.VNA