General Phan Van Giang met bilaterally with the British Secretary of State for Defence

On the evening of October 28 (local time), in London, General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense, had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Vernon Coaker, Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

General Phan Van Giang and British Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker with delegates.

General Phan Van Giang respectfully thanked the British Ministry of Defence and Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker for their thoughtful reception; emphasizing that the official visit of General Secretary To Lam has a very special significance, taking place in the context of the strong development of Vietnam-UK relations, which are constantly being consolidated and developed on the basis of trust, equality, mutual respect and for the interests of the two peoples.

General Phan Van Giang affirmed Vietnam's importance and priority in developing cooperative relations with the UK in all fields, including defense.

Meeting scene.

Welcoming General Phan Van Giang accompanying General Secretary To Lam on an official visit to the UK, Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker emphasized that Vietnam is one of the UK's important partners in the field of defence cooperation, in which experience exchange is one of the key contents that the UK is interested in promoting.

Sir Vernon Coaker affirmed that he will make further efforts to contribute to promoting the Vietnam-UK relationship in general and the cooperation between the two countries' Defense Ministries in particular to increasingly develop and become more effective.

At the meeting, the two sides affirmed that the Vietnam-UK defense cooperation relationship in recent times has been implemented in the right direction, in line with the results of the 5th Vietnam-UK Defense Policy Dialogue and the Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral defense cooperation signed in 2017, achieving many positive and outstanding results in the fields of: exchanging delegations at all levels; effectively maintaining cooperation mechanisms, especially the annual Defense Policy Dialogue mechanism; maritime security and safety; United Nations peacekeeping , training, hydrography, etc.

General Phan Van Giang thanked the British Ministry of Defence for its annual support, English training, and professional capacity improvement for officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army through training courses on command and staff, maps, and United Nations peacekeeping.

The General hopes that in the coming time, the UK Ministry of Defence will continue to provide training courses in the fields of engineering, cyber security, international relations, hydrography, English and military medicine; send English lecturers to directly teach at academies and schools of the Vietnam People's Army and increase the organization of exchanges and teaching methods.

The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense is also ready to receive British military personnel to learn Vietnamese and attend international defense officials courses in Vietnam.

General Phan Van Giang presented a souvenir to British Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker.

Expressing gratitude and appreciation for the UK's active support from the very first days of Vietnam's deployment of Level 2 Field Hospital No. 1 to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, General Phan Van Giang said that in the coming time, Vietnam will further expand the scope of its participation in United Nations peacekeeping activities and suggested that the two sides consider promoting the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries' Defense Ministries on cooperation in this field.

General Phan Van Giang also thanked the UK for sending a delegation and businesses to exhibit at the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2024; hoping that the UK would continue to attend the Exhibition in the next edition.

To bring bilateral defense cooperation in line with the Vietnam-UK relationship, the two sides agreed to continue promoting the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels, in the coming time to enhance trust, understanding and expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest; continue to effectively maintain consultation and dialogue mechanisms; strengthen training cooperation, promote cooperation between military academies and schools of the two countries; promote cooperation in military medicine, security, maritime safety, hydrography, defense industry, and United Nations peacekeeping; continue to effectively implement cooperation in preventing and combating human trafficking; and at the same time study the possibility of promoting cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam.

General Phan Van Giang and British Minister of State for Defence Vernon Coaker agreed to assign the relevant agencies of the two Ministries of Defence to actively promote and implement the contents agreed upon during the meeting.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed world and regional situations of mutual concern.

NINH CO

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dai-tuong-phan-van-giang-gap-song-phuong-quoc-vu-khanh-quoc-phong-anh-post918943.html