Lieutenant General Bùi Quốc Oai, Political Commissar of the Việt Nam Coast Guard, and Major General Liu Houjie, Deputy Political Commissar of the China Coast Guard shake hands at the opening ceremony of the 1st Việt Nam-China Coast Guards political exchange in Hà Nội today morning. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — The inaugural Việt Nam-China Coast Guard Party Affairs & Political Exchange Programme 2024 took place Tuesday morning in Hà Nội.

This marks the first time the coast guard forces of the two nations have organised a political exchange programme.

The programme carries significant importance, providing a foundation for enhancing exchanges, sharing experiences and learning from one another to better fulfil assigned tasks.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Lieutenant General Bùi Quốc Oai, Political Commissar of the Việt Nam Coast Guard, and the Chinese delegation, led by Major General Liu Houjie, Deputy Political Commissar of the China Coast Guard, attended the opening ceremony.

In their opening speeches, both officials emphasised the longstanding traditional friendship between Việt Nam and China, noting that the two nations share borders and have a history of close relations.

Lieutenant General Bùi Quốc Oai and Major General Liu Houjie at the opening ceremony of the exchange programme. — Photo qdnd.vn

The establishment of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership reflects the strong political trust between the two Parties, States, peoples and militaries. This trust provides a favourable basis for the two sides' functional agencies to promote and expand cooperation in various fields.

The two delegation heads affirmed that the exchange programme would serve as a bridge of friendship and goodwill, contributing to deepening mutual understanding and political trust between the two forces and strengthening the traditional ties that already exist.

It also presents an opportunity for both sides to exchange, share and learn about methods and experiences in Party and political work, thereby contributing to reinforcing and promoting the Việt Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

Oai noted that both Việt Nam and China are socialist countries under the leadership of their respective parties.

Both the Việt Nam Coast Guard and China Coast Guard operate under the absolute, direct leadership of their respective Communist Parties and have similar organisational structures and political work activities.

Conducting Party and political work is a fundamental principle in building and executing the missions of each country's coast guard force.

The Việt Nam Coast Guard and China Coast Guard are the specialised forces responsible for law enforcement at sea for their respective countries, he added.

Following the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2016, both sides have united and cooperated in various substantive and effective activities, making positive contributions to building trust between the two forces and maintaining peace, security, order, safety and respect for the law in the adjacent maritime areas. This cooperation is a shining example of law enforcement cooperation at sea in the region.

Oai emphasised that in the future, as the world and regional situations are expected to become more complex, the law enforcement forces at sea of both countries will face various types of crimes and legal violations. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen coordination, increase exchanges and share experiences in carrying out their missions.

The first Việt Nam-China Coast Guard Political Exchange Programme for 2024 features a variety of activities held in Hải Phòng and Hà Nội cities, including courtesy calls on the leaders of the General Political Department of the Việt Nam People’s Army, high-level talks between the two forces, observation of Party and political work on a coast guard ship and a cultural and artistic exchange night. — VNS