Singapore (VNA) – Defence cooperation is one of the most important pillars ofrelations between Singapore and Vietnam, said Singaporean Defence Minister NgEng Hen.

The Singaporean minister made the statement during a reception on March 1 for Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Chief of the GeneralStaff of the Vietnam People’s Army, and Deputy Minister of National Defence.

Giangis leading a high-ranking delegation of the VietnamPeople’s Army to pay an official visit to Singapore from February 28 to March2.

MinisterNg congratulated Vietnam on its hosting of the second DPRK-USA Summit, sayingthat this shows Vietnam’s role and position in the international community.

While sharing current challenges in the region and the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), including those related to the East Sea and strategiccompetition among big countries, the Singaporean minister he hoped that withits role as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam will have many initiatives to contributeto strengthening the regional security structure.

Singapore will coordinate with and support Vietnam to successfully assume therole of ASEAN chair, he said.

For his part, Giang congratulated Singapore on successfully taking on the roleof ASEAN chair in 2018.

He emphasised that during its time as the chair of ASEAN, Singapore put forth manypractical initiatives and made important contributions to promoting unitywithin the bloc and improving the position of ASEAN in the region and theworld.

Giang expressed his hope that Singapore will share its experience with Vietnam asit assumes the ASEAN chair role in 2020.

In the afternoon of the same day, an official welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamesedelegation was chaired by Chief of theDefence Force of Singapore Lt. Gen. Melvyn Ong.

During his talks with the Vietnamese delegation, Melvyn highlighted the fruitful friendship between the twocountries, saying that the visit will contribute to further reinforcing thepractical cooperation between the two armies, thus promoting bilateral relations.

Giang affirmed that since 2013, Vietnam and Singapore have become strategicpartners of each other and their defense cooperation has recorded positivedevelopment steps.

Vietnam attaches importance to defence cooperation with Singapore, he stressed,adding that the visit aims to discuss specific measures to further bolster cooperationbetween the two armies in the time to come.

The two officers agreed to enhance the exchange ofdelegations and visits, especially cooperation among the two countries’ forcesat sea, effectively implement signed agreements, and work closely in humanitarianaid and disaster relief.

The two sides will also maintain the mechanism of information exchange, and continueto consult with each other at multilateral forums, especially those within the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), ADMM Plus,and the ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces framework.–VNA