Vietnam has always attached a great deal of importance to development cooperation with Africa in food security, agriculture and poverty reduction.

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh stated this while receiving Joseph Kiticki Kouamba, the Minister-Diplomatic Advisor to the Presidency of the Central African Republic (CAR), in Hanoi on August 19.

Minister Thanh briefed his guest of Vietnam ’s experiences in building up its armed forces during its process of national industrialisation and modernisation.

The Vietnamese army is a key element in consolidating and building a strong national defence while contributing to national economic development, he said.

The force has also helped to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty in remote and mountainous areas, responding to natural disasters and improving people’s living conditions, he added.

Kouamba said that a military delegation from the CAR is expected to be sent to Vietnam to learn from the Southeast Asian country’s experiences./.