Defence Minister holds bilateral meetings on Shangri-La Dialogue sidelines

Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich held bilateral meetings with other delegates to the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1.

Meeting between Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan (Source: VNA)
Meeting between Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan (Source: VNA)

At his meeting with US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan, both sides said that cooperation between Vietnam and the US has produced practical results that conform with the bilateral comprehensive partnership, thus contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world.

Both sides agreed to continue intensifying cooperation, with priority given to addressing war aftermaths and maintaining dialogue mechanisms and high-level delegation exchanges.

At Lich’s meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Ron Mark, they reached a consensus on maintaining all-level delegation exchanges, promoting gained achievements and seeking new cooperation opportunities in the fields of training, cybersecurity, search and rescue, and joining UN peacekeeping activities.

Meeting with UK Secretary of State for Defence Penny Mordaunt, Lich thanked the Department of Defence for helping Vietnam in deploying the first level-2 field hospital in South Sudan and providing English-language training for soldiers who participate in the UN peacekeeping missions.

To make defence ties match with the bilateral strategic partnership, both ministers agreed to step up delegation exchanges, effectively carry out dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, sign new cooperation agreements, maintain mutual support at multilateral forums, and strengthen collaboration in the UN peacekeeping activities. Lich asked the UK to continue training English language for Vietnamese soldiers.

At their meeting, Minister Lich and Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Heng were unanimous in speeding up the exchange of delegations and young soldiers, collaborating in military medicine, search and rescue activities and defence industry.

While hosting his French counterpart Florence Parly, Lich affirmed that Vietnam always supports France’s efforts to intensify its cooperation with ASEAN and maintain peace, stability and win-win cooperation in the region.

Both sides agreed to continue workings to increase the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms and seek opportunities in the fields of mutual concern.

Meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Haji Mohamad Sabu, Lich proposed both sides direct law enforcement forces at sea to avoid using violence in addressing fishermen who violate each other’s waters.

The Vietnamese minister also had a meeting with his Mongolian counterpart Enkhbold Nyamaa, during which they reached a consensus on continuing cooperation in delegation exchanges, training and participation in the UN peacekeeping missions, and seeking cooperation opportunities in defence industry, military medicine, and logistics.

He also met High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan to discuss measures to boost bilateral defence collaboration.