Deputy defence minister Sen Lt Gen Hoàng Xuân Chiến leads the Vietnamese delegation to attend the 10th Singapore Airshow. — Photos courtesy of the Ministry of National Defence

SINGAPORE — Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen Lt Gen Hoàng Xuân Chiến is in Singapore from February 2-5 to attend the 10th Singapore Airshow at the Changi Exhibition Centre.

The biennial event stands as Asia's largest defence and aerospace exhibition, serving as a key platform to forge regional partnerships and seal agreements in the sector.

On Tuesday, the Vietnamese delegation attended the opening ceremony and held a series of bilateral meetings.

This demonstrated Việt Nam’s keen interest in global defence industry collaboration and the Vietnamese Government and Ministry of National Defence (MoD)’s consistent support for international exchanges and cooperation in this field on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for Vietnamese law and relevant international commitments.

On the occasion, Chiến met with Permanent Secretary of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence Chan Heng Kee. He expressed satisfaction with the strong and multifaceted progress in bilateral relations overall, and in defence and military cooperation in particular.

Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen Lt Gen Hoàng Xuân Chiến meets with Permanent Secretary of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence Chan Heng Kee in Singapore.

He recalled the January 30 phone talks between Vietnamese Party General Secretary Tô Lâm and Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party and Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong, during which they agreed on many important orientations to further deepen the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

According to him, cooperation between the two ministries has thrived substantively and effectively across various areas, including the exchange of all-level delegations, the defence policy dialogue, consultation and information sharing mechanisms, military service and arm collaboration, maritime security and safety, training, and mutual support at multilateral forums.

Chiến proposed that Chan will continue guiding the practical and effective development of defence ties, with a focus on mutual visits at all levels, especially those at high level. He also highlighted the maintenance of dialogue and consultation mechanisms, cooperation between the two countries' military services and arms, training, maritime security and safety, search and rescue, military medicine, logistics, intelligence exchange, non-traditional security, mutual consultation and support at multilateral forums, as well as support for multilateral activities hosted by each side.

He also invited Chan to the inauguration of the representative office of the the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) in Singapore on Wednesday morning, and extended invitations to leaders of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence, including the Permanent Secretary personally, to attend the third Việt Nam International Defence Expo later this year.

Chan, for his part, affirmed that Việt Nam and Singapore enjoy a robust and steadily strengthened bilateral relationship, with defence cooperation as a pillar.

He expressed his hope for both sides to maintain close collaboration in the agreed areas, particularly naval cooperation, training, and cybersecurity, to elevate bilateral defence ties to a new level.

The Vietnamese official also met with defence ministry leaders from various countries and visited exhibition booths, engaging with firms from Singapore, France, the US, Japan, Israel, the Czech Republic, and others.

He proposed that partners work with Việt Nam to boost exchanges and explore opportunities aligned with their respective strengths while agreeing on orientations for advancing defence industry coordination in the coming time.

The same day, Chiến witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between Viettel and Singapore-based ST Engineering, one of the city-state’s leading aerospace, defence, and technology firms, and US-headquartered multinational Honeywell as well.

Welcoming the signed agreements, he said the MoD backs such partnerships between Viettel and its partners.

He called on the parties to move swiftly into detailed discussions for substantive results from the signed agreements while continuing to explore and expand new cooperation areas based on each side’s potential and needs. — VNA/VNS