At the 9th Vietnam-Singapore Deputy Minister-Level Defence Policy Dialogue in Singapore on November 12 (Photo: VNA) Singapore (VNA) – Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh and Chan Yeng Kit, Permanent Secretary of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence, co-chaired the 9th Vietnam-Singapore Deputy Minister-Level Defence Policy Dialogue in Singapore on November 12.
At the event, the two sides shared their viewpoints on the regional and global issues of common concern, including defence and security challenges to both countries and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) such as competition among major powers, the East Sea issue, and non-traditional security challenges.
They agreed that ASEAN should maintain its solidarity and central role in the regional security architecture while promoting the role and responsibilities of partner countries.
Regarding bilateral defence relations, they noted with pleasure the strongly developing ties between the two countries’ defence ministries and armies, particularly the exchange of all-level delegations, training, information sharing, and cooperation between armed services.
In the coming time, the two sides will continue promoting the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms and deepen current collaboration contents in a practical and effective manner. They will also build a three-year cooperation plan to concretise collaboration aspects.
Earlier, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh paid a courtesy visit to Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who spoke highly of the two defence ministries’ maintenance of the deputy minister-level Defence Policy Dialogue – a leading important mechanism to assess bilateral defence ties as well as put forth orientations and measures to boost the relations in the time ahead.
Ng Eng Hen stressed that the two countries’ defence cooperation has made great contributions to enhancing political trust and deepening the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership. He thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence for supporting its Singapore counterpart over the past year, thus contributing to the country’s successful assumption of the role as ASEAN Chair 2018. He affirmed to coordinate closely with the Vietnamese ministry during 2020, when Vietnam takes over ASEAN Chair.
For his part, Vinh asserted that Vietnam always attaches importance to the position of Singapore in the region and wishes to strengthen pragmatic defence ties with Singapore for peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large.-VNA
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