Vietnam and Thailand agreed to step up friendly and cooperative
military relations between the two countries, based on the “National
Defence Agreement of Vietnam and Thailand’s Ministries of National
Defence” signed in September, 2012.

The two sides
reached the consensus during the working visit of Vietnam’s national
military delegation to Thailand from March 11–14, at the invitation of
General Sukumpol Suwanatat, Thailand’s Minister of Defence.

Head of the delegation, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence,
General Phung Quang Thanh, highly valued the cooperation relations
between Vietnam and Thailand, adding that the two countries should work
together to foster bilateral and multilateral relations towards the
formation of an ASEAN community by 2015.

The
minister affirmed the necessity of boosting friendship and cooperation
ties to speed up the execution of agreements in national defence
cooperation signed earlier by the two countries, particularly in naval
cooperation.

The Vietnamese defence minister’s visit
aims to evaluate the two countries’ national defence cooperation, and
look at detailed measures to foster future cooperation, enhancing
friendship, mutual understanding and trust between the two countries and
their military forces for peace, stability, cooperation and development
in the region and the world.-VNA