General Phan Van Giang receives French Ambassador to Vietnam

(Bqp.vn) - Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang hosted a reception for French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet in Hanoi on November 23.

At the reception.

During the reception, General Phan Van Giang stressed that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing relations with France, and defence cooperation is one of the important pillars in the Vietnam - France strategic partnership. He affirmed that the defence cooperation between the two countries has been developed in accordance with the Vietnam - France defence cooperation agreement and the Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam - France defence cooperation for the 2018 - 2028 period.

General Phan Van Giang said that the bilateral cooperation has achieved positive results in the exchange of delegations, the effective operation of the strategic defence dialogue and cooperation mechanism, training, UN peacekeeping, military medicine, coordination and support at multilateral forums, etc.

The defence minister proposed that the two sides continue strengthening cooperation, focusing on meetings at all levels; completing legal frameworks for training cooperation; effectively deploying signed specialised cooperation agreements; overcoming post-war consequences; expanding cooperation to new areas where both sides have potential and demands; and coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums.

General Phan Van Giang presenting a souvenir to Ambassador Olivier Brochet.

For his part, Ambassador Olivier Brochet highly valued Vietnam’s role in the region, especially in ASEAN. He expressed his good impression of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s recent talk on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying that the talk demonstrated the wish of the two countries’ leaders to strengthen cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world as well.

He affirmed that France would continue to support Vietnam in UN peacekeeping activities; adding that France is also ready to open French language training courses for Vietnamese staff participating in UN peacekeeping activities.