Minister of National Defence Phan Văn Giang and his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Gennadievich Khrenin review the guards of honour as part of the official welcoming ceremony in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

HÀ NỘI — Minister of National Defence Phan Văn Giang on Tuesday held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Gennadievich Khrenin, who is leading a high-level delegation from the Belarusian Ministry of Defence to pay an official visit to Việt Nam and attend the Việt Nam International Defence Expo 2024.

Welcoming the guests, Giang underscored that the Vietnamese people and the Việt Nam People’s Army always remember and value the significant support and assistance that people of the Soviet Union, including the Republic of Belarus, had given to Việt Nam's past struggle for national liberation and reunification.

Highlighting the effectiveness of Việt Nam-Belarus defence cooperation in recent times, the minister noted that this collaboration aligns with the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries as well as international treaties and agreements they have signed.

He proposed that the two sides will continue to coordinate to effectively implement cooperation agreements, particularly regarding high-level delegation exchanges, military medical training, military history research, military communications and participation in multilateral international events hosted by each side.

Giang asked the Belarusian defence ministry to consider offering additional scholarships to Vietnamese military personnel to study at Belarusian defence training institutions.

He affirmed Việt Nam's readiness to welcome Belarusian military personnel to take Vietnamese language courses at the Military Science Academy and defence official training programmes at the National Defence Academy, aiming to make bilateral defence cooperation more substantive and effective.

Minister Khrenin, for his part, affirmed that the Belarussian defence ministry will closely coordinate with its Vietnamese side to effectively implement the agreed initiatives, further enhancing Belarus-Việt Nam ties.

He took the occasion to extend an invitation to Minister Giang to pay an official visit to Belarus and attend the 12th International Exhibition of Arms and Military Machinery Milex 2025.

Mentioning regional and global issues of mutual concern, Minister Giang reiterated Việt Nam's consistent stance of resolving disputes through peaceful means, based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

He emphasised the need to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and expedite the conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in line with international law.

On this occasion, the two defence ministers signed a number of cooperation agreements to further advance bilateral relations. — VNA/VNS