Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese and Turkish militaries have agreed to expand cooperation across a range of areas, including delegation exchanges, training, search and rescue, post-war mine clearance, defence industry, United Nations peacekeeping, coordination among military services and arms, cybersecurity, and responses to non-traditional security challenges.
The agreement was reached during talks on May 7 between Deputy Minister of National Defence of Vietnam Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Truong Thang and Turkish Deputy Minister of National Defence Musa Heybet, held during the Vietnamese official’s visit to Türkiye to attend the SAHA 2026 Defence and Aerospace Exhibition.
Vietnam also affirmed its readiness to receive Turkish officers for Vietnamese language studies and international defence officials’ training courses in the country.
Thang took the occasion to invite the Turkish deputy minister, officials from Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defence, and Turkish defence companies to attend and showcase products at the third Vietnam International Defence Expo 2026, set to take place from December 10–13 at Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi.
Turkish Deputy Minister Heybet confirmed that the Turkish Ministry of National Defence would send a delegation to the event, while leading Turkish defence firms are also expected to join the exhibition.
At a separate meeting the same day with Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Defence Agil Gurbanov, Deputy Minister Thang suggested that the two sides step up coordination in delegation exchanges, training cooperation, and links between defence enterprises in areas such as defence industry, military trade, and logistics-technical support.
He also proposed expanding collaboration into other fields where both countries share demand and potential. Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence is prepared to welcome Azerbaijani military cadets to study Vietnamese and join international defence officials’ courses in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese deputy minister also conveyed an invitation from General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defence to attend the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2026 in this December.
For his part, Gurbanov said there remains significant potential for defence cooperation between the two countries, particularly following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation between the two ministries. He expressed his hope that both sides would strengthen collaboration in training and defence industry cooperation, while accelerating the establishment of a specialist-level working group mechanism to effectively implement agreed areas of cooperation and explore additional potential fields.
The Azerbaijani deputy minister also invited leaders of Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence to attend the Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition 2026 and voiced his hope of welcoming Sen. Lieut. Gen. Thang to Azerbaijan for an official visit in the near future./.
