Vietnam, Italy hold second defence policy dialogue

At the dialogue, which was part of his working visit to Italy April 27-30, Vinh said bilateral defence cooperation has failed to meet expectation.

He introduced Vietnam’s participation in the United Nations peacekeeping activities and expressed his belief that Italy will become an important partner of Vietnam in this field. 

The country wishes to boslter ties with Italy in the defence industry and in military logistics, medicine and training, he added.

The Vietnamese deputy defence minister briefed the Italian side on the security situation in Asia-Pacific, saying the region is facing security challenges such as development gap, territorial dispute, nuclear threat and other non-conventional security challenges.

Concerning the East Sea issue, he emphasized Vietnam’s consistent stance on settling all disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law.  He used the occasion to convey Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich’s invitation to the Italian Defence Minister to visit Vietnam in the future.

Domenico Rossi, State Secretary for Defence of Italy, who co-chaired the dialogue, praised the flourishing development of the Vietnam-Italy relations across fields. 

He reaffirmed the Italian Government’s support for defence cooperation between the two countries, saying that his nation will continue receiving Vietnamese officers to participate in training courses in institutes and schools of the Italian army.

He also shared his country’s position on issues in the world, the region and the fight against terrorism.

As part of the visit, the Vietnamese officer met with Italy’s Defence Commander General Claudio Graziano, and visited a number of Italian defence enterprises.