Vietnam, New Zealand boost defense ties

Hanoi, July 19 (VNA) – New Zealand’s Chief of the Defense Force Air Marshal Kevin Short on July 17 hosted a reception for Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, in Wellington. In their talks, the two officials expressed their delight at the active, intensive, and practical development of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand, in line with signed agreements, contributing to peace, stability, and common development of the two countries, and of the region and the world. Both sides highlighted the effective implementation of the bilateral defence ties to meet each side’s needs and strengths based on the memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation signed this year. They agreed that despite the huge impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministries have maintained high-level contacts at ministerial and deputy ministerial levels and defence cooperation dialogue, and defence consultation mechanisms via virtual format. In addition, the two countries’ militaries have pro-actively participated in multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) and Experts’ Working Groups within ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ), thus joining hands with other countries to uphold regional and global peace, stability and development. Based on the two countries’ strategic partnership, the two sides agreed that there is ample room for bilateral defence ties to develop. To bolster the cooperation between the Vietnam People’s Army and the Defense Force of New Zealand, the two sides were unanimous to concentrate on such fields as exchange of all-level delegations and contacts, consultation-dialogue mechanisms, personnel training, and UN peacekeeping. They also agreed to consider the expansion of fields in which both sides have demand and capability such as cyber security, military medicine, cooperation between training facilities, defense industry. In addition, both sides reached an agreement on strengthening consultations and cooperation at multilateral mechanisms to which both countries are members, particularly the ADMM ’s Experts’ Working Groups, to improve Vietnam’s international integration in terms of defence and reinforce the ASEAN - New Zealand strategic partnership. In the afternoon of the same day, the Vietnamese Chief of the General Staff visited the New Zealand Command and Staff College./.