World Update

General Phan Van Giang holds talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin


According to the newspaper People’s Army, Opening the talks, Secretary Lloyd Austin shared with General Phan Van Giang about the damage caused by Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam recently; expressed his joy to welcome General Phan Van Giang on his first official visit to the US in his position as Minister of National Defense of Vietnam.

Mr. Lloyd Austin highly appreciated the positive cooperation results that Vietnam and the US have achieved, saying that the two countries’ upgrading of their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership creates a good foundation for the future of bilateral relations in general and defense cooperation between the two countries in particular.

Secretary Lloyd Austin also emphasized the importance of cooperation in overcoming war consequences in the overall relationship between the two countries; affirmed that the US Government and Department of Defense will continue to cooperate and support Vietnam in this field.

On this occasion, he thanked Vietnam for fulfilling its commitment to supporting the search for American soldiers missing in action during the war.

Minister Phan Van Giang expressed his pleasure at the official visit to the US in the context of the two countries celebrating the first anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, towards the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1995 – 2025); affirmed that Vietnam wishes to develop cooperation with the US on the basis of the legitimate interests of both sides, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

At the talks, the two sides assessed that bilateral defense cooperation continues to be actively implemented and achieves practical results in the fields of delegation exchanges, dialogue – consultation, overcoming the consequences of war, searching for US soldiers missing in action (MIA), training, military medicine, United Nations peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief…

Regarding future cooperation directions, the two sides agreed to promote high-level exchanges and contacts and maintain existing dialogue and consultation mechanisms.

The two ministers emphasized continuing to prioritize cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, focusing on accelerating the progress of dioxin contamination treatment at Bien Hoa airport, overcoming the consequences of unexploded bombs and mines, and providing information, documents and supporting equipment and DNA testing technology to serve the search and collection of remains of Vietnamese martyrs missing in action during the war.

The two sides also promoted and deepened cooperation in the fields of United Nations peacekeeping, training, military medicine, consultation and mutual support at regional and international multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+), on the basis of respecting the central role and consensus principle of ASEAN.

The two sides expressed their belief that in the coming time, cooperation between the two countries’ Ministries of Defense will continue to develop, for the benefit of each country, for peace, stability and common development of the region and the world, contributing to promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development between Vietnam and the US.

On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang once again respectfully invited Secretary Lloyd Austin and leaders of the Ministry of National Defense and US defense industry enterprises to Vietnam to attend the second International Defense Exhibition, scheduled to take place in Hanoi in December 2024.

At the end of the talks, the two ministers signed an updated Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement on Defense Cooperation.

General Phan Van Giang and Secretary Lloyd Austin also exchanged some war relics and information related to Vietnamese soldiers and American soldiers missing in action during the war.

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