Defense cooperation contributes to promoting Vietnam - New Zealand relations

On the afternoon of November 6, in Hanoi, General Phung Quang Thanh, Politburo member and Minister of National Defense, received Mr. Tony Lin-so, Deputy Secretary General of Defense for Policy and Planning, New Zealand Ministry of Defense, who came to pay a courtesy visit on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam to attend the first Vietnam-New Zealand Defense Dialogue.

General Phung Quang Thanh received Mr. Tony Lin-so.

At the reception, General Phung Quang Thanh highly appreciated the results of the dialogue held on November 5, co-chaired by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense, and Mr. Tony Lin-so.

Minister Phung Quang Thanh affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to the comprehensive cooperative relationship in all fields with New Zealand, including defense cooperation; at the same time, he said that the two sides need to continue to maintain and promote the effectiveness of the Defense Policy Dialogue mechanism, thereby enhancing mutual understanding and trust and finding directions to promote bilateral defense cooperation.

Mr. Tony Lynch said that defense cooperation plays an important role in the Comprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand. Through exchanges and contacts, the New Zealand side realized that training is an issue of concern to Vietnam and therefore, the New Zealand Ministry of Defense will consider increasing support in foreign language and professional training for officers of the Vietnam People's Army. In addition, the two sides also have many prospects for cooperation in the field of participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

According to QĐND Online