Vietnamese and New Zealand Defence Ministers have agreed to work so as
to elevate bilateral defence cooperation to a new level with the early
signing of a defence cooperation agreement.
The agreement
was reached at talks between visiting Vietnamese Defence Minister
General Phung Quang Thanh and his New Zealand counterpart Jonathan
Coleman following an official welcome ceremony on March 21 in
Wellington city.
Both sides should exchange delegations
at all levels, cooperation in English training, set up a deputy
minister-level dialogue mechanism, and exchange experiences in military
services with a focus on navy cooperation, said Thanh.
He affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its comprehensive partnership with New Zealand , including in defence.
Vietnam wishes to bolster cooperation with New Zealand at
multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN
Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to maintain the region’s
peaceful environment, he added.
As a nation in the
Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand finds consultation cooperation with
regional countries necessary, replied Coleman.
Bilateral
defence cooperation between New Zealand and Vietnam will help
maintain peace in the region and ensure the legitimate rights on the sea
of each nation, the host said.
He went on to say that his
ministry will help further cooperate with its Vietnamese counterpart in
training, especially to raise Vietnamese military officials’ English
language skills, and exchanging naval experiences.
New
Zealand backed Vietnam ’s initiative to set up an expert group to
overcome the consequences of bombs and mines left from the war within
the mechanism of ADMM+, as well as the nation’s stance in settling
disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, he
noted.
The same day, Thanh met New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray Mc Cully.
During the official friendship visit to the country (March 20-25),
Thanh held working sessions with a number of New Zealand defence
officials and visited New Zealand High Command and Defence University.-VNA