Senior Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Chiến (right) and his counterpart Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, sign two documents, which serve as a foundation for both ministries to cooperate, on Thursday morning in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the Russia Federation will increase efforts to enhance the bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries, making it more substantive and effective in the coming years.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Chiến, deputy minister of National Defence talked about the increasing closeness, when he and his counterpart Alexander Fomin, deputy minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, co-chaired the 7th Việt Nam-Russia Defence Strategic Dialogue on Thursday morning in Hà Nội.

The efforts focused on several areas, including exchanges of delegations at various levels, especially high-level visits, enhancing the effectiveness of key cooperative mechanisms such as the Joint Intergovernmental Coordination Committee on the Việt Nam-Russia Tropical Centre, and the Defence Strategic Dialogue.

It will further boost military cooperation, military medical training and Russian language instruction and support the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence in implementing elements of the '70 Years of Việt Nam-the Soviet Union/Russian Federation Defence Cooperation' dossier.

Chiến said he believed that the 7th Việt Nam-Russia Defence Strategic Dialogue would provide a strong impetus for both defence ministries to implement increasingly meaningful, effective and practical cooperations.

During the dialogue, Chiến reaffirmed the essential role of national defence collaboration, within the broader framework of traditional friendly relations and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation.

He also praised the achievements of the national defence cooperation between the two ministries since the 6th Việt Nam-Russia Defence Strategic Dialogue in July 2023.

The two sides had made significant progress in areas such as the exchange of delegations across various levels, the effective maintenance of existing cooperative mechanisms, the promotion of personnel training, cooperation between the armed forces and military units of both countries, scientific research collaboration within the Việt Nam-Russia Tropical Centre and joint work on military media, history and museums.

Expressing his pleasure at the meeting with Chiến and visiting Việt Nam, Senior Lieutenant General Alexander Fomin thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence for its warm hospitality.

He also extended his congratulations to the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Việt Nam People's Army and the 35th anniversary of the All-People National Defence Day.

Acknowledging the positive outcomes in defence cooperation between the two ministries, the Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin emphasised that collaborating remained a cornerstone of Việt Nam-Russia diplomatic relations.

He highlighted that 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Principles of Friendly Relations between the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam and the Russian Federation (1994-2024).

He noted that 2025 would mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Russia and the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic Victory of the Soviet people.

He underscored that the victory was achieved with the support of the Vietnamese people and stressed the strong friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two ministries of national defence.

In the future, the Russian Ministry of Defence would continue to actively collaborate with its Vietnamese counterpart to implement agreed-upon activities, further strengthening the depth and effectiveness of Việt Nam-Russia national defence cooperation.

At the dialogue, both sides shared views on global and regional issues of mutual interest.

Chiến reaffirmed Việt Nam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, peace, friendship, cooperation, development and multilateralism, emphasising the country's readiness to cooperate with other nations and international organisations for peace and development worldwide.

Việt Nam committed to resolving disputes and differences peacefully, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

At the end of the dialogue, the two sides signed two documents, which will serve as the foundation for both ministries to continue their association in the future. — VNS