New Delhi (VNA) – The fifth annual Vietnam-India Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX 2024) commenced on November 4 at the Chandimandir military station in Haryana state, India.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Kharga Corps Lt Gen Rajesh Pushkar highlighted the long-standing historical, cultural and civilisational links and the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Vietnam.
The bilateral relationship is further secured by the joint shared vision for peace, prosperity and people, he said, emphasising that defence cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in 2009 and the Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation in 2015 provide a broad institutional framework towards this goal, he said, adding that the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on Defence Partnership Towards 2030 and the MOU on Mutual Logistics Support have highlighted the growing importance of both countries in the Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN.
Pushkar also emphasised that the VINBAX aims to foster cooperative partnership, share best practices between the two sides under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter on peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).
Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai said that VINBAX is a symbol of cooperation between the two armies, and has promoted the image of the two countries as responsible members of the world community.
Hai said that in addition to professional activities, VINBAX 2024 is also an opportunity for soldiers of both sides to exchange and learn about each other's cultural, social and traditional heritage values.
Col. Luu Dinh Hien, Commander of the Training Centre of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said that VINBAX is constantly expanding, from the first exercise in the form of tabletop simulation in 2018 to a field exercise in 2022; from the deployment of medical and technical troops in UN missions to the deployment of air force elements and drones in VINBAX-2024.
The drills will last until November 23./.
