U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Vietnamese Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and sustainability for development, agreeing to promote the bilateral defense cooperation more intensively, practically and effectively to make contributions to the comprehensive partnership. 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Vietnamese Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich
hold talks in Ha Noi, November 20, 2019 - Photo: VNA

The two sides made that statement at their talks on November 20 on the occasion of the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s official visit to Viet Nam from November 19-21. 

The U.S. Secretary of Defense’s visit to Viet Nam aims to launch cooperative contents in defense which were inked between the two defense ministries and agreements reached by their senior leaders, contributing to strengthening the friendship relations and trust between the two armies and people. 

At the talks, the two officials spoke highly of the practical and positive developments in Viet Nam-U.S. defense cooperation in line with the comprehensive partnership, which have met the aspirations of their people, particularly in all spheres of searching for missing soldiers, handling Agent Orange/dioxin consequences, participating in UN peacekeeping activities, training, military medical work, exchanging experience on improving law enforcement capacity at sea, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

In the upcoming time, the two sides consented to continue boosting cooperative contents identified in the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation and the 2015 Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations and Cooperative Program in 2018-2020 period, focusing on such areas as high-ranking delegation exchange, consultancy, dialogues and joining hands in dealing with consequences of the war. 

Both nations will coordinate to realize project on the remediation of dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa airport, search and rescue, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, security of navigation, military medical work, training English, researches into cooperation in defense industry and UN peacekeeping activities.