The Ministry of National Defence vows to actively and effectively participate in multilateral mechanisms and the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations, and continue expanding its relations with neighbouring, ASEAN and partner countries.

Addressing a conference in Hanoi on January 28 to review the ministry’s 2014 defence-diplomatic activities and set tasks for 2015, Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh stressed the need for the army’s external relations units to keep a close watch on the regional and world situations in order to access their impacts on the country’s external work in general and defence diplomacy in particular.

He asked the units to offer the Party and State more advice on defence and security, and increase the capacity of officers working in this field.

He also called for the building of a strategy of defence integration into ASEAN until 2020 with a vision to 2030.

In 2014, the Vietnamese army actively took part in bilateral and multilateral defence cooperation mechanisms, which helped maintain peace and security, safeguard the national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and increase the country’s position in the region and the world.-VNA