Vietnam, New Zealand enhance defence links

VOV.VN - New Zealand’s Chief of the Defense Force Air Marshal Kevin Short hosted a reception on July 17 for Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, in Wellington.

During talks, the two officials showed their elation at the active, intensive, and practical development of the strategic partnership between both sides in line with signed agreements, contributing to peace, stability, and the common development of the two countries, the region, and the world.

Both sides hailed the effective implementation of the bilateral defence ties which fully meet each other’s needs and strengths based on the memorandum of understanding on defence co-operation signed this year.

They therefore agreed that despite the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministries have maintained high-level contacts at ministerial and deputy ministerial levels, a defence co-operation dialogue, and a defence consultation mechanisms via a virtual format.

Furthermore, the two countries’ militaries have pro-actively participated in multilateral co-operation mechanisms, such as the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) and Experts’ Working Groups within the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM), thereby uniting with other countries to uphold regional and global peace, stability, and development.

Based on the two countries’ strategic partnership, the two sides agreed that there remains ample room for bilateral defence ties to develop.

As a means of bolstering the links between the Vietnam People’s Army and the Defence Force of New Zealand, the two sides were unanimous in concentrating on fields such as the exchange of all-level delegations and contacts, consultation-dialogue mechanisms, personnel training, and UN peacekeeping.

They also consented to consider the expansion of fields in which both sides have demand and capability such as cyber security, military medicine, co-operation between training facilities, and the defence industry. In addition, the two nations reached an agreement on strengthening consultations and ties at multilateral mechanisms to which both countries are members, particularly the ADMM ’s Experts’ Working Groups, as a means of improving Vietnamese international integration in terms of defence and reinforce the ASEAN - New Zealand strategic partnership.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Vietnamese Chief of the General Staff visited the New Zealand Command and Staff College.

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