At the official reception for Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich On the afternoon of November 8 (local time), Defense Minister Christopher Pyne hosted an official reception for the Vietnamese Defense Minister and his entourage. After the reception, the two defense ministers signed a Joint Vision Statement on Enhancing Defense Cooperation and co-chaired bilateral talks between the two defense delegations. The host expressed delight at seeing his Vietnamese counterpart again after the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) in Singapore last October. He emphasized the importance of the ongoing official visit of the Vietnamese Defense Minister to Australia as it takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral defense ties. The visit made much sense as the two countries recently upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership, he underscored. Defense Minister Christopher Pyne confirmed that Vietnam secures an important position in Australia’s foreign policy, and expressed his hope to boost bilateral relations, including defense cooperation, with Vietnam. Expressing his thanks to the host for the warm welcome, General Lich stated, Australia is a very important partner of Vietnam, and hoped that his visit would contribute to developing the Vietnam-Australia strategic partnership. Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich (R) and his Australian counterpart Christopher Pyne sign the Joint Vision Statement on Enhancing Defense Cooperation During the talks, the two sides exchanged the situation of each country as well as… [Read full story]
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