Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Gen. Ngô Xuân Lịch (L) and his Mongolian counterpart Nyamaagiin Enkhbold  review the guard of honour at a welcome ceremony in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Ngô Xuân Lịch and his Mongolian counterpart Nyamaagiin Enkhbold discussed measures to promote defence ties during their talks in Hà Nội on Thursday.

The talks took place following a welcome ceremony for the Mongolian minister in the afternoon of the same day.

The two ministers said the traditional friendship between Việt Nam and Mongolia founded by President Hồ Chí Minh and Tsedenbal has kept growing.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 65 years ago, the bilateral relationship has developed in many areas such as diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, agriculture and education while political trust has been strengthened.

They vowed to step up defence cooperation within the framework of an agreement between the two governments, including the establishment of a joint working group to boost ties in foreign language training, military medicine, culture and arts, military sports, the UN peacekeeping mission, logistics and defence industry.

Following the talks, the two ministers signed a government-level agreement on defence cooperation.

Later the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình met Mongolian minister Nyamaagiin Enkhbold, saying Việt Nam always considers Mongolia an important partner in the region and wants to continue developing the traditional friendship between the two countries more effectively.

The Government of Việt Nam always creates favourable conditions for the two national defence ministries to cooperate, contributing to fostering the relations between the two countries, Bình said.

Việt Nam is ready to act as a bridge to help enhance the cooperation between Mongolia and the ASEAN, he said.

Enkhbold, for his part, informed his host on the outcomes of talks between he and his Vietnamese counterpart, which focused on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation signed between the two defence ministries in 2013.

He added that Mongolia wants to develop the relations between the two countries to a higher level.

He briefed his host of the results of talks held with Minister of National Defence Gen. Lịch and said the cooperation between the two national defence ministries would serve as a reliable foundation for promoting the relations between the two countries. — VNS