Vietnam, Singapore beef up defence cooperation
The 10th meeting of the Vietnam - Singapore joint working group on defence cooperation was held virtually on October 25.
The event was co-chaired by Major General Vu Thanh Van, director of the Department of Foreign Relations at the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and Colonel Phua Jia Kai, director of the Defence Policy Office at the Singaporean Ministry of Defence.
The two sides affirmed that the joint working group mechanism has so far demonstrated its important role in making recommendations to leaders of the two ministries, and building practical cooperation activities between the two ministries and armies.
They affirmed that Vietnamese and Singaporean leaders defined defence cooperation as one of the important and prioritised areas that need to be promoted. The defence partnership has been jointly carried out and achieved positive outcomes in naval cooperation; search and rescue; exchange of young officers; education and training; and mutual consultation and support at multilateral defence mechanisms and forums.
The two sides agreed to advise their defence leaders to further direct bilateral cooperation in the areas of delegation exchange; promote the role of existing cooperation mechanisms; prioritise personnel training collaboration; strengthen cooperation between armed services; and consult and support each other at multilateral mechanisms and forums.
