Russia’s defense chief vows to strengthen military interaction with Vietnam

MOSCOW (TASS): The defense ministries of Russia and Vietnam will continue developing military and military-technical cooperation, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Colonel General Phan Van Giang held via a video conference at Vietnam’s initiative on Friday.

“I expect our defense ministries to further develop close and trustworthy cooperation. We invariably attach great importance to interaction in the military and military-technical fields. We are determined to further strengthen the entire range of bilateral relations with the emphasis on the understanding, respect and trust established between our countries,” Russia’s defense chief said.

This year marked 20 years since Russia and Vietnam established strategic partnership that has acquired all-embracing nature today, Shoigu pointed out. “Despite the continued quarantine restrictions, we maintain a political dialogue at all the levels. Our today’s meeting is a vivid confirmation of that. We are open for a substantive talk on developing mutually beneficial cooperation,” Russia’s defense chief stressed.

Both countries will continue their coordination within the framework of the mechanism of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Defense Ministers’ meetings, he assured.

Russia’s defense chief thanked his Vietnamese counterpart for his decision to take part in the ninth Moscow conference on international security. Shoigu welcomed the regular participation of Vietnamese representatives in large international events organized by the Russian Defense Ministry, including the Army international military-technical forum and the International Army Games.

For his part, Phan Van Giang said he was confident that Vietnam and Russia would continue strengthening their military cooperation, which could be confirmed by today’s meeting, even if in an unusual format.