At a reception for Lieut. Gen. A.V. Fomin, Deputy Defence Minister of Russia, in Hanoi on November 22, Lich urged the two sides to continue their defence cooperation in the areas of shared concern. 

The minister also suggested Russia provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students. 

For his part, A.V. Fomin affirmed that Vietnam is Russia’s traditional and important partner in Asia-Pacific, adding Russia will boost defence cooperation with Vietnam to match the potential of each country. 

The Russian guest informed his host about outcomes of the third deputy ministerial-level defence strategic dialogue between Vietnam and Russia, which took place earlier the same day. 

At the dialogue, Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh said his ministry always attaches importance to developing the cooperation and traditional friendship with the Russian people and army.

He also highlighted the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, which has developed across fields, including national defence, as reflected through high-level visits by State leaders of the two countries in 2017. 

The two sides applauded outcomes of defence affiliation over the past time, covering delegation exchange, training, peace-keeping operations, scientific research and collaboration within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+). 

They also discussed regional and international issues of shared concern. 

At the end of the dialogue, the two sides inked memoranda of understanding between the two defence ministries on cooperation in peace-keeping operations and on operational regulations of the Vietnam-Russia joint working group on defence cooperation.-VNA