Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam andthe UK held the fourth defence policy dialogue in Hanoi on March 29 under thechair of Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien andThe Baroness Goldie DL, Minister of State at the British Ministryof Defence, reported the Quan doi Nhan dan (People's Army) daily.

Chien said as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their bilateral diplomaticties this year, their strategic partnership has continued to be promoted, withdefence cooperation remaining an important factor of bilateral relations.

Goldie affirmed that the defence ties have been developing strongly and recordinggood outcomes.

At the dialogue, the two sides shared the view that defencecooperation has continued to be implemented in the right direction and in linewith the countries’ commitments in the memorandum of understanding on defencecooperation signed in 2017, as well as the agreements reached betweenVietnamese Defence Minister Gen. Phan Van Giang and British Secretary of Statefor Defence Ben Wallace during the latter’s official visit to Vietnam in July2021.

They highlighted encouraging cooperation outcomes, especiallyin mutual visits, training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, defenceindustry, maritime security, hydrography, geospace, and human traffickingcombat.

Defence cooperation has been carried out effectively andsubstantively, thus greatly contributing to the Vietnam - UK strategicpartnership and mutual trust for the sake of each country and for regional andglobal peace and stability, they went on.

The officials suggested some cooperation orientations for thecoming time, including continuing delegation exchanges and implementing cooperationactivities in conformity with the signed agreements.

Chien called on the UK to continue reserving scholarships andholding technical and English training courses for the Vietnamese side.

Vietnam hopes to receive the UK’s assistance to improve itscapacity in the fields that the European country is strong at such as cybersecurity, hydrography, and naval affairs, he noted, adding that Vietnam isready to welcome British military personnel coming to learn the Vietnamese languageat the Military Science Academy and the National Defence Academy.

Regarding cooperationin the UN peacekeeping operations, the Defence Ministry asked the UK tocontinue helping develop the Vietnam peacekeeping training centre to theregional and international levels, improve the capacity of specialised forces,and support Vietnam’s candidacy for high-ranking positions at UN missions andthe UN headquarters.

In terms of the defence industry, the Defence Ministry ofVietnam is ready to create conditions for British enterprises to introducetheir products, learn about the procedures for purchasing the defence industry’sproducts in Vietnam, and explore each other’s demand and strengths toeffectively carry out cooperation in line with law, international practices,and each side’s capacity, Chien added./.