Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and his Lao counterpart Vongkham Phommakone sign a minute of the dialogue (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The fourth Vietnam – Laos ministerial-level defencepolicy dialogue was held in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on March 20under the chair of Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien andhis Lao counterpart Vongkham Phommakone.
At the event, Chien and Vongkham Phommakone agreed that the bilateral defencecooperation has carved out practical outcomes that help promote the sound friendshipbetween the two governments, armies and peoples, especially in the areas ofdelegation exchange at all levels, dialogue mechanisms, border management andprotection, training, consultation and support for each other at multilateralforums.
Touching the global and regional situations, Chien spoke highly of ASEAN’s rolein shaping up and maintaining the regional security architecture, and boostingpractical cooperation among its member states as well as between ASEAN and itspartners.
He expressed his belief that as the ASEAN Chair 2024, Laos will effectively runthe bloc’s cooperation mechanisms, create consensus in the bloc, andcontinue developing the ASEAN community.
Both sides concurred to continue cooperation in the above-mentioned fields, andproposed to assign delegations of experts from the two ministries to review andevaluate the outcomes of the implementation of the protocol for the 2020-2024period and recommend collaboration contents for 2025-2029.
As Laos’ traditional Bunpimay festival is approaching, Chien conveyed Ministerof Defence General Phan Van Giang’s new year greetings to Minister of Defence GeneralChansamone Chanyalath./.
