Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Phan Văn Giang and Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Krivoruchko Aleksei Iurievich visit an exhibition at the International Army Games 2021. — Photo qdnd.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — During a meeting with Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Krivoruchko Aleksei Iurievich on Saturday, General Phan Văn Giang, Vietnamese Minister of National Defence thanked Russia for having donated Sputnik V vaccines to Việt Nam.

The Russian deputy minister is visiting Việt Nam to attend the closing ceremony of the “Sniper Frontier” and “Emergency Area” competitions of the International Army Games 2021.

General Giang said he hoped that Russia would continue to offer vaccine assistance to Việt Nam amid the pandemic’s development.

Welcoming the Russian deputy minister to Việt Nam, General Giang said that Việt Nam and Russia had a long-standing traditional friendship.

“Việt Nam always attaches great importance to developing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia and considers it one of Việt Nam’s foreign policy priorities,” Giang said.

Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Phan Văn Giang (right) holds talks with Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Krivoruchko Aleksei Iurievich on Saturday. — Photo qdnd.com.vn

The governments of the two countries always pay attention to bilateral defence co-operation, creating conditions to deepen the relations in various fields. Since COVID-19 broke out, the two defence ministries had supported each other in pandemic prevention and control tasks, Giang said.

The Vietnamese Minister of National Defence also spoke highly of the defence cooperation between the two countries, especially in high-level delegation exchange, training, military-technical cooperation, unit-level cooperation, and cooperation at regional institutions and forums.

General Phan Văn Giang said that Việt Nam supported and took part in the International Army Games to strengthen friendship and defence cooperation among participating countries.

Deputy Defence Minister of Russia Yurievich thanked General Phan Văn Giang for his reception and congratulated the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence on successfully hosting the Sniper Frontier and Emergency Area competitions. — VNS