Vietnamese Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich held a phone discussion with Cambodian Deputy PrimeMinister and Defence Minister Tea Banh on September 8 to review bilateraldefence cooperation in the recent past and define directions for the time ahead.
Lich affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to thetraditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia.
He went on to say that the Vietnamese army stands ready to share experience andgive support to the Cambodian side in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, andin building capacity for the Cambodian army.
Tea Banh, for his part, highly valued ties with Vietnam and thanked theVietnamese army for helping Cambodia in various fields, particularly in thefight against the coronavirus outbreak.
He congratulated Vietnam’s Defence Ministry on the successful organisation of manyASEAN military-defence conferences amid the complex development of the pandemicthis year, the year Vietnam holds the chairmanship of ASEAN.
He also expressed his gratitude for the ministry’s coordination in organisingactivities to mark the 43rd anniversary of the “Road to topple the PolPot genocidal regime” in Binh Phuoc province in June, saying this importantevent should be held annually.
Speaking highly of defence cooperation between the two sides since the beginningof the year, Lich and Tea Banh agreed that both ministries have given timelysupport to each other in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including sharingexperience and medical supplies.
In the time to come the two ministries will continue cooperative activitiesapproved by the leaders of the two defence ministries, including improving theefficiency of cooperative mechanisms, particularly the defence policy dialogueat the deputy ministerial level, working to complete cooperative frameworks,and enhancing collaboration between border guard forces to prevent transnationalcrime and trafficking.
They will also place borders under strict control to prevent the spread ofCOVID-19.
Both defence leaders said they will support each other at multilateral defencecooperation forums within the ASEAN framework as well as mechanisms in whichASEAN plays a central role.
Tea Banh affirmed that the Cambodian Defence Ministry would continuecoordination with the Vietnamese side so that the latter can successfullyfulfil its role as ASEAN Chair this year./.
VNA
