Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen Lt Gen Nguyễn Chí Vịnh at the online talk with Jody Thomas, Deputy Minister of Canada’s Department of National Defence. — Photo qdnd.vn

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen Lt Gen Nguyễn Chí Vịnh, on Tuesday, engaged in two online talks with Jody Thomas, Deputy Minister of Canada’s Department of National Defence, and Peter Tesch, Deputy Secretary for Strategic Policy & Intelligence at Australia’s Department of Defence.

Canadian and Australian ambassadors and military attaches to Việt Nam also took part in the talks.

During the talks, Vịnh informed the Australian and Canadian officials on the COVID-19 situation in Việt Nam, attributing the good outcomes in controlling the disease to concerted efforts of the entire political system, with the Việt Nam People’s Army serving as the core and vanguard force.

Highlighting the importance of international collaboration in the fight against the pandemic, he thanked Australian and Canadian defence bodies’ co-operation in sharing information on COVID-19 prevention, control, research and treatment. He hoped the joint work will last for long given the COVID-19 complexities.

On the occasion, Vịnh and his counterparts reviewed outcomes of Việt Nam – Australia and Việt Nam – Canada defence ties in the past and sought agreement on future orientations with a stress on military medical coordination in disease prevention and control. All sides vowed that they will not allow the pandemic to hinder their thriving co-operation.

The Vietnamese and Canadian officials expressed their delight at breakthroughs in the relations of the sides after their defence ministers exchanged visits, particularly in human resources training and UN peacekeeping missions.

The Canadian side said it plans to set up a military attaché office in Việt Nam this year, and the two sides agreed to push for the establishment of a bilateral defence policy dialogue mechanism toward building a 3-year co-operation scheme for the two defence ministries.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam and Australia took note of outstanding joint work, such as Australian military aircraft, for the second time, transporting personnel of Việt Nam’s level-2 field hospital to South Sudan for a peacekeeping mission. The sides also began teaming up to organise activities searching for Vietnamese soldiers missing during wartime, shooting skills exchanges; and discussions on women, peace and security.

Vịnh stated Việt Nam’s Ministry of National Defence is committed to the effective implementation of defence co-operation with Australia and Canada based on signed documents and agreements for the benefit of the sides involved and of the region.

The official also informed his counterparts on the schedule of activities during the year Việt Nam serves as Chair of ASEAN (2020) and its tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2020-21).

He highlighted Việt Nam’s determination in strengthening collaboration within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Minister’s Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM Plus.

He stressed Việt Nam backs Canada’s responsible participation in the region in line with ASEAN’s consensus principle and praised Australia’s success in hosting the first informal ASEAN – Australia defence ministers’ meeting. — VNS