During the talks immediately following the ceremony, General Phan Van Giang affirmed that Viet Nam always remembers and values the wholehearted support, sincere assistance and goodwill extended by generations of leaders and people of Russia to Viet Nam during its struggle for national independence in the past, as well as in the cause of national construction and defence thereafter.
The delegation also included Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Gau, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of National Defence.
With the active coordination of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defence solemnly inaugurated the Viet Nam–Soviet Union Solidarity and Friendship Monument at the Viet Nam Military History Museum in August 2025 in tribute to Soviet military experts who had assisted Viet Nam, among whom Russian experts constituted the core force.
General Phan Van Giang expressed his pleasure at witnessing the strong development of the traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and Russia. Important agreements reached by senior leaders of both countries have created strong momentum to further promote and deepen cooperation across all fields, with defence cooperation identified as one of the key pillars.
Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov congratulated General Phan Van Giang on his appointment, approved by Vietnamese National Assembly, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence. He expressed confidence that in his new and highly responsible role, General Phan Van Giang would continue to pay close attention to and make important contributions to the development of bilateral defence cooperation as well as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and Russia. He also affirmed that the Russian Ministry of Defence supports and stands ready to promote cooperation with Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence in new areas suited to the capabilities and conditions of each side.
The two ministers assessed that, based on the outcomes of the defence ministers’ talks held in August 2024, and thanks to the close attention of senior leaders and the determination and efforts of both sides, bilateral defence relations have continued to be strengthened and enhanced, commensurate with their role as a key pillar in overall Viet Nam–Russia relations.
Significant achievements have been recorded in numerous areas, including delegation exchanges and high-level contacts; cooperation between agencies and units of the two defence ministries; training cooperation; scientific and technological research cooperation within the framework of the Viet Nam–Russia Tropical Centre; active support for and participation in international multilateral activities hosted by either side; and close coordination within ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
In order to elevate bilateral defence cooperation to a deeper, more substantive and effective level in line with the consensus reached by senior leaders of both countries, and based on proposals by General Phan Van Giang, the two sides agreed to continue coordinating the implementation of agreed cooperation areas.
These include effectively carrying out signed cooperation documents; discussing and signing new cooperation agreements in line with the needs of both parties; exchanging experience; cooperating in humanitarian mine clearance, military history education and communications; training cooperation; and promoting cooperation between the Viet Nam–Russia Tropical Centre and units under the Russian Ministry of Defence.
General Phan Van Giang sincerely thanked the Russian Ministry of Defence for allocating training quotas to Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, affirming that Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defence stands ready to receive Russian military personnel for Vietnamese language studies and participation in international defence officials’ courses at Vietnamese academies and military schools.
During the talks, General Phan Van Giang also respectfully invited leaders of the Russian Ministry of Defence and Russian defence industry enterprises to attend and showcase products at the third Viet Nam International Defence Expo in December 2026, thereby contributing to the overall success of the event.
General Phan Van Giang and members of the high-level delegation of Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence laid flowers and planted commemorative trees at the President Ho Chi Minh Monument site in Moscow.
On the same day, General Phan Van Giang and the high-level delegation visited the President Ho Chi Minh Monument to lay flowers and plant commemorative trees, and also laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Earlier, on the afternoon of May 20, General Phan Van Giang and the delegation visited the Embassy of Viet Nam in Russia.
Highly appreciating the embassy’s contributions to promoting Viet Nam–Russia relations, General Phan Van Giang thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in general and the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia in particular for their attention and close coordination, including the role played by Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi in consolidating and strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries.
General Phan Van Giang expressed his hope for continued support and assistance from the embassy in further strengthening and deepening Viet Nam–Russia defence cooperation in a more practical, effective and substantive manner, thereby contributing even more to the traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
