Deputy defense minister receives Lao, Cambodian defense attachés to Vietnam

At the meeting with the Lao official, Gen. Chien underlined the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos with bilateral defense ties as one of the important pillars.

The Vietnamese deputy defense minister spoke highly of the two defense ministries' successful organization of activities in the Vietnam – Laos, Laos – Vietnam Year of Friendship and Solidarity in 2022.

He said that on the basis of the cooperation plan for 2023, the Vietnamese defense ministry has tasked its affiliated agencies and units to cooperate with their Lao counterparts. So far, the two sides' agencies and units have actively and jointly implemented cooperative activities, reaping practical outcomes.

Given that the two defense ministries are going to hold the third deputy-ministerial-level defense policy dialogue and other sideline activities, the Vietnamese official suggested Colonel Vongxay Inthakham continue giving recommendations to the Lao Defense Ministry to direct relevant agencies to boost cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts in this regard.

For his part, Colonel Vongxay Inthakham expressed his delight at the fruitful development of the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two neighbors over the past time, particularly the bilateral defense ties.

He confirmed that in his capacity, he will exert all-out efforts to speed up the actualization of activities and missions set for this year, contributing to intensifying the bilateral defense cooperation.

Meanwhile, at the reception for the Cambodian defense attaché, Gen. Chien highly appreciated Colonel Rem Kann's coordination with the Vietnamese defense ministry's affiliates to effectively carry out bilateral defense ties-related activities, including those in the framework of the Vietnam – Cambodia and Cambodia – Vietnam Friendship Year 2022.

He recalled his separate meeting with General Neang Phat, Permanent Secretary of State at the Cambodian Defense Ministry on the sidelines of the freshly-concluded ASEAN – Japan  Deputy Defense Ministers' Meeting, during which they discussed defense cooperation orientations for the time ahead.

Noting that this year Cambodia will organize various important political and diplomatic events, such as the seventh National Assembly election, the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32) and the 12th ASEAN Para Games, the Vietnamese deputy defense chief expressed his belief that the country will host these events successfully.

Agreeing with the host's assessment on the bilateral defense ties over the past time, Colonel Rem Kann confirmed that he would continue to closely team with the Vietnamese defense ministry's agencies and units to boost the efficiency of the defense cooperation on the basis of the contents reached by the two defense ministries' leaders.

Translated by Mai Huong