Russian Defence Minister and Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister hold talks in Moscow

🇷🇺🇻🇳 Russian Defence Minister and Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister hold talks in Moscow

Russian Minister of Defence General of the Army Sergei Shoigu held talks with the Deputy Minister of National Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, who arrived in Moscow to participate in the sixth meeting of the joint Russian-Vietnamese strategic dialogue on defence issues.

'I gladly accepted your invitation to meet and discuss the current state and prospects of our cooperation, primarily in the military sphere. You are always welcome in our country, just like all Vietnamese friends,' Sergei Shoigu said.

The Russian Defence Minister thanked Hoang Xuan Chien for his personal participation in a reception hosted by the Russian Embassy in Hanoi on the occasion of Russia Day on June 9: 'It is gratifying that you pay attention to our national holidays and find time to share the joy of such events with Russian colleagues.'

'Vietnam has been and remains our reliable ally, a key partner in the Asia-Pacific region,' the Russian Defence Minister said. In its turn, the Deputy Minister of Vietnam described the interaction between the two countries' military departments as a prime example of cooperation between the two countries, the history of which goes back more than 70 years.

'Despite the difficulties Russia faces, Vietnam always supports Russia. We are always determined to enhance and develop our cooperation, interaction in all spheres of military and military-technical cooperation,' said Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien.

Sergei Shoigu expressed confidence in the need to step up face-to-face interagency contacts to strengthen connections and find new promising areas of cooperation: 'We pay great attention to joint work in multilateral formats, first and foremost on the platform of ADMM-Plus. We are interested in developing and strengthening such connections'.

During the meeting, the sides noted the intensification of Russian-Vietnamese multifaceted interaction that meets the core interests of the two states, which has been repeatedly noted during the talks at the highest level.

'We are always open for an honest dialogue on any mutually beneficial topics and issues,' concluded Sergei Shoigu. Earlier in the day, a strategic dialogue was held with the head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation Lieutenant General Aleksandr Kshimovsky to discuss topical issues of multifaceted Russian-Vietnamese cooperation, including military and military-technical cooperation.

The two sides confirmed their mutual 'interest in intensifying military-to-military exchanges between branches of the armed forces' and also noted the 'consistent build-up of ties in the educational sphere'.

The strategic dialogue resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy and the Military Medical Academy of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence. - Russia defence ministry