Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Canada should intensifyand expand cooperation in such areas as war consequence settlement, defenceindustry and maritime security, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister PhamBinh Minh told Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan.

During their meeting in Hanoi on June 4, Minh called onCanada to increase its support for Vietnam in personnel training in the defencesector.

Vietnam wishes to step up friendship and cooperation withCanada in a comprehensive, effective, pragmatic and stable manner and for along-term, in the context that the two countries share interests bilaterally,regionally and internationally, he affirmed.

The official said he believes that the Canadian defenceminister’s first-ever visit to Vietnam will contribute to enhancing defencelinks between the two countries as well as their bilateral relationship in thetime ahead.

Host and guest noted with pleasure the active andcomprehensive development of Vietnam-Canada ties, highlighting the officialvisit to Vietnam by Prime Minister JustinTrudeau, his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2017 and the establishment of theVietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership on this occasion.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucis scheduled to attend the expanded Group of Seven (G7) Summit and visit Canadafrom June 8-10 at the invitation of PM Trudeau. 

Vietnam expects to contributeto the success of the summit, Minh said, expressing his belief that PM Phuc’supcoming visit and his talks with PM Trudeau will yield active outcomes,helping promote the comprehensive partnership practically.

Vietnam appreciates Canada’sforeign policy of increasing its connectivity with the world and theAsia-Pacific region, and reinforcing relations with Vietnam and the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the official noted.

Collaboration between the twocountries in the regional and international aspects should be intensified forpeace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world atlarge, he suggested.

He urged the two sides tocontinue their coordination at important forums and multilateral mechanismslike the United Nations and the APEC forum, among others.

In reply, the Canadian Ministersaid he was impressed by strong developments Vietnam has recorded after 30years of reform, lauding the country’s foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, as well asits increasing position in the international arena.

Vietnam is Canada’s importantpartner in the region, he said, expressing his hope for friendship and long-termcooperation with Vietnam, covering the sphere of national defence.

The establishment of thecomprehensive partnership creates an important foundation and orientation forthe bilateral ties in the coming time, including defence cooperation, he said.

Canada will continue itsassistance for Vietnam in training officers and improving the country’s capacityto join UN peace-keeping operations, the minister pledged.

Regarding regional andinternational issues, the two sides spoke of the significance of maintainingpeace and stability in the region.

Both affirmed their stance onbacking the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures,without the use of force or threat to use force, on the basis of respecting diplomaticand legal processes and observing the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seaand the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), lookingtowards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).-VNA