Vietnam and France still have much potential and room for defense cooperation.

On the afternoon of May 26, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense (Hanoi), General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, received Mr. Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the French Army, on the occasion of accompanying President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron on a State visit to Vietnam.

General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense, received Mr. Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the French Army. (Photo: Tuan Huy)

At the meeting, General Phan Van Giang highly appreciated the increasingly positive developments in the Vietnam - France relationship, especially the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the official visit to the French Republic by General Secretary andPresident To Lam (October 2024).

General Phan Van Giang emphasized that bilateral defense cooperation between Vietnam and France continues to be strengthened and developed in a practical and effective manner in many fields, in accordance with the contents agreed upon by the two countries' senior leaders and the two Defense Ministries, as well as signed cooperation documents, notably in areas such as: Delegation exchange, training, United Nations peacekeeping , defense industry, etc.

Affirming that there is still much potential for defense cooperation between the two Defense Ministries, General Phan Van Giang suggested that in the coming time, the two sides continue to well implement cooperation orientations on the basis of the joint appointment of senior leaders of the two countries and the annual cooperation program.

General Phan Van Giang emphasized that bilateral defense cooperation between Vietnam and France continues to be strengthened and developed in a practical and effective direction. (Photo: Tuan Huy)

Specifically, focusing on a number of contents such as: Exchanges and contacts at all levels, especially high levels; promoting the effectiveness of the Strategic Dialogue mechanism and defense cooperation; cooperation in military medicine, hydrography, training, historical memories, searching for missing soldiers in war, exchanging relics, search and rescue; cooperation in military services, maritime security, border defense; United Nations peacekeeping; continuing to coordinate and support each other at regional and world security forums...

Thereby, contributing to promoting defense cooperation between the two countries to become increasingly in-depth, effective, and substantive, for the benefit of each country, for peace, stability, and common development of the region and the world, worthy of being an important pillar in the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang sincerely thanked the Ministry of the Army of the French Republic for sending a delegation and defense enterprises to attend and display products at the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition 2024, contributing to the overall success of the Exhibition.

French Minister of the Army Sébastien Lecornu hopes that the two sides will actively promote cooperation in the defense field. (Photo: Tuan Huy)

Expressing his delight at his second visit to Vietnam, French Minister of the Army Sébastien Lecornu sincerely thanked General Phan Van Giang for his warm welcome, and emphasized that the meeting between the two ministers was an important sign of the good development in relations between the two countries. Vietnam and France share the desire for peace, respect for international law and mutual respect.

Recalling the cooperation contents agreed upon by the two countries' senior leaders during the State visit to Vietnam by French President Emmanuel Macron, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu hoped that the two sides would actively promote cooperation in the defense field, thereby continuing to make more substantial and effective contributions to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-phap-con-nhieu-tiem-nang-va-du-dia-trong-hop-tac-quoc-phong-315605.html