Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty met with the US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus in Hanoi on April 8.

Lieut. Gen. Ty lauded the visit of the top US Navy leader to Vietnam, which aims to strengthen the partnership between the two armed forces and navies on the occasion of the 20 anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US.

Defence ties between the two countries have been growing in recent years with enhanced naval cooperation, he noted, adding that the two navies have fostered collaboration on training, search and rescue, military medicine and ensuring maritime security and safety.

Ray Mabus held that potential of bilateral naval cooperation is high. He said the exchange of delegations at all levels and joint activities between the two navies will contribute to fostering the partnership between Vietnamese and US armed forces.-VNA