The Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Sen. Lieut. Do Ba Ty, on June 24 began his four-day official visit to France to further boost defence ties between the two countries.

 

During his talks with Admiral Edouard Guillaud, Chief of Defence Staff of France in Paris, Ty said that the Vietnam-France relationship is on the right track within the motto of traditional friendship and comprehensive, long-term and reliable cooperation for the 21st century. 

He affirmed that Vietnam hopes to develop all-round ties with France for a strategic partnership.  Ty reviewed effective cooperation between the two sides over the past years, including the annual Joint Defence Committee mechanism, cooperation in defence science and technology, as well as the exchange of experience in military medicine and hydrography.  He thanked the French Defence Ministry for creating conditions for Vietnamese officers to study in the country.  Regarding orientations for future cooperation, the Vietnamese General suggested Vietnam and France continue improving the efficiency of their defence cooperation by increasing the exchange of all-level delegations and the sharing of experience in joining UN peacekeeping operations, while maintaining the annual Joint Defence Committee and strengthening training cooperation.  Ty expressed his hope that France will continue support for Vietnam’s bid to join the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).  In terms of coordination at multilateral forums, he said with its foreign policy of openness and active international integration, Vietnam wishes to further cooperate with France in regional and international multilateral forums, through which the two sides can contribute to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the region and the world.  Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge to expand France-ASEAN relations, he noted.  For his part, Admiral Edouard Guillaud highly valued Vietnam’s role in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN in particular. He said he appreciates the ties between Vietnam and France, especially in national defence.  Guillaud said he believes Ty’s visit will contribute to fostering the relationship between the two countries in general and their defence ties in particular.  He agreed with the guest on future cooperation between the two defence ministries, stressing that France applauds Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations and is willing to share its experience with the Southeast Asian nation.  As an IHO founder, France will back Vietnam to become the organisation’s member, he affirmed.  The Admiral also stressed that his country supports Vietnam’s viewpoint of settling marine disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  He confirmed that the effective defence cooperation between the two countries will contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the region as well as the legitimate rights of each nation.

VNA/VOV online