Vietnam, France sign joint vision statement on defence cooperation

During the talks, Minister Parly affirmed that her country highly values the role of Vietnam in the region and the world, and attaches great importance to developing bilateral ties with the Southeast Asian country.

Minister Lich said that his visit is part of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and France and five years of the bilateral strategic partnership. It aims to realise outcomes of the official visit by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong to France in March this year, he said.

The minister showed his delight at the comprehensive and effective development in bilateral relations in all fields, including politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, defence-security, culture, education, science, justice and health care.

At the talks, the two sides shared their views on regional and international matters of shared concern.

The French Defence Minister stated that France shared the stance with many countries on the need to ensure maritime and overflight security, safety and freedom on the foundation of international law.

She added that France will continue making contributions to the maintenance of an environment of peace, stability and development in areas in which the country has interests.

The two ministers agreed that all disputes must be settled peacefully in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.

Minister Lich declared that France is an important partner of Vietnam, adding that Vietnam highly appreciates the role of France in the world arena, and supports the European country in strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnership with the ASEAN as well as joining ASEAN mechanisms.

Vietnam hopes that France will continue to actively contribute to peace, stability and development in the region where the ASEAN is playing the central role, he stated.

The two ministers highly valued the positive developments in the Vietnam-France defence cooperation in recent times, stressing that the defence ties are one of the pillars of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Since the two sides signed the Vietnam-France agreement on defence cooperation in 2009, the bilateral defence ties have achieved important results.

Especially, after Vietnam and France upgraded their relations to Strategic Partnership, the two countries have paid more attention to promoting their defence collaboration, and reached practical results in terms of exchange of strategic views, training, and UN peace-keeping operation participation, defence industry, and military medicine.

The two sides agreed to improve the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms and seek ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of their strengths and those of common concern in the coming time.

The ministers signed a joint vision statement on defence cooperation in 2018-2028, and an agreement on amending the Vietnam-France cooperation agreement signed in 2009.

(Source: NDO)