Paris (VNA) – The first Vietnam-Francedefence cooperation and strategy dialogue has wrapped up successfully,contributing to the development of mutual understanding and creating afoundation for stronger defence ties.

The dialogue took place during the working trip to France byDeputy Minister of Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, fromJuly 1 to 4.

It is an important mechanism in the bilateraldefence cooperation, which aims to implement effectively the outcomes of thehigh-level visit to France by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March2018 and the visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Édouard Philippe in November2018, as well as realise the strategic vision on Vietnam-France defencecooperation signed by the two countries’ defence ministers in 2018.

Sen. Lieut. Gen Vinh said the dialogue is meantto implement the outcomes gained during the official visit to France byMinister of National Defence, General Ngo Xuan Lich, in September 2018.

This is the first time the two sides hasdeployed the new cooperation mechanism that is based on the previous mechanismof the joint commission on defence cooperation, he said.

The elevation of the dialogue proves thedevelopment of the Vietnam-France strategic partnership, enabling the twocountries to develop their defence partnership in a more practical andeffective manner, he added.

Vietnam will support France to join regionalsecurity architectures such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMMPlus) once the country gains agreement from ASEAN as well as meets the bloc’scriteria, he said.

He added that Vietnam always backs multinationalefforts in maintaining peace, stability and cooperation for common developmentin the region.

Vietnam serves as a bridge to connect Francewith other nations in the region, especially ASEAN member states, he said.

For his part, Vice Admiral Hervé deBonnaventure, Deputy Director General for International Relations and Strategy,said France highly values the role and position of Vietnam in the region andhopes to promote the bilateral defence collaboration to contribute to regionalpeace, stability and development.

He called on Vietnam to support France to partakein regional security mechanisms and enhance relations with Asian-Pacificcountries, especially in 2020 when Vietnam will take the role of the rotatedChair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

During his working visit to France, Vinh paid acourtesy visit to Geneviève Darrieussecq, Secretary of State tothe Minister of the Armed Forces.

The two sides agreed to set up a working groupinvolving military history experts of both countries to exchange informationand memories of the Indochina war as well as share responsibilities with warveterans and their relatives.

The Vietnamese officer also met with BernardRogel, Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic, to talkabout Vietnam-France defence ties.-VNA