Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his entourage left Hanoi on May 31 for the 12 th Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore .

The PM’s attendance at the event is made at the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the organisation board of the Shangri La Dialogue.

He will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Dialogue, which will take place from May 31-June 1.

The speech will manifest Vietnam ’s national defence and security policy which highlights peace, stability and development cooperation in the region and voice Vietnam ’s stance on important regional issues, including peace, stability and maritime security in the East Sea .

Initiated by the International Institute for Strategy Studies (IISS), the annual Shangri La Dialogue was first held in 2002.

It is a venue for leaders, policymakers and scholars across the Asia-Pacific to discuss regional and global situations, strategic orientations for regional security, and measures to promote defence cooperation and enhance mutual understanding and trust.

This year’s event will bring together government leaders, defence ministers and top security analysts from 27 Asian-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member nations and others such as China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, the US, Russia, Canada, the UK and France.

VNA