At the press briefing. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The eighth border defence friendship exchange between Việt Nam and China is scheduled to take place in Việt Nam’s northern province of Lào Cai and its neighbouring Chinese province of Yunnan on September 7 - 8.

The Vietnamese delegation will be led by Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defence. Meanwhile, Li Shangfu, a State Councillor and Minister of National Defence of China, will lead the Chinese side to the event, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence told a press briefing in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

On September 7, activities will take place in Việt Nam, including a welcome ceremony for the Chinese delegation at the Lào Cai International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, the launch of work on a friendship house of culture in Bản Phiệt Commune of Bảo Thắng District, a visit to and presentation of gifts to the Kim Đồng Primary School in Lào Cai City, and the talks between the two delegations.

China will host others on September 8, including a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Hekou International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, a visit to a military unit/a school in the Hekou area, and a bilateral seminar.

Prior to the exchange, other activities will be organised, such as providing free health examinations and medicine for border residents, presenting scholarships to 50 students from poor families and heifers to disadvantaged households. The authorities will also review the twin relationship between border communities and the coordination between the border guard post of the Lào Cai International Border Gate and the Hekou border guard unit of Yunnan’s Mengzi region.

The ministry said the eighth border defence friendship exchange aims to help implement the Việt Nam - China joint statement on the continued promotion and intensification of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, issued during an official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng in November 2022, thereby helping strengthen mutual trust and cooperation between the two Parties, States, and defence ministries.

It is also one of the important diplomatic activities between the countries’ defence ministries this year, with a view to promoting friendship, solidarity, and substantive cooperation between their border defence forces, administrations of border localities, and local residents so as to build a joint border of peace, friendship, stability, cooperation, and development, the ministry added.

The first exchange was held in Quảng Ninh Province of Việt Nam and Guangxi Province of China in 2014. — VNS