Defence co-operation between Vietnam and Russia, especially regarding science and technology, was not disrupted by the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), said Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh during an interview recently granted to the media.

Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh 

The interview came prior to a five-year review of all activities concerning the Vietnam Sub-Committee of the Vietnam-Russia Inter-Governmental Coordinating Committee which is scheduled to take place on July 7.

With regard to the role of defence co-operation between the two nations, especially in the field of science and technology and working within the framework of the Vietnam-Russia Joint Committee, Lieut. Gen. Vinh underlined the importance of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre under the Ministry of Defence. 

This agency has been tasked with co-operating alongside Russia regarding matters of science and technology to serve defence and military purposes, in addition to helping with socio-economic issues.

As a part of the Defence Ministry, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre has so far successfully fulfilled all the tasks assigned by the Ministry of Defence, therefore serving all required military and defence activities and scientific research work conducted between the two nations.

Upon discussing the content of co-operation with regard to being adaptable to the COVID-19 epidemic that out broke globally earlier this year, Lieut. Gen. Vinh stated that the two defence ministries have put forward co-operation activities for the year ahead, with approximately 70 events relating to military and defence co-operation. 

Despite this statement of intent between the two sides, the affects of pandemic have prevented the implementation of some proposed contents.

With regard to defence co-operation in the fight against COVID-19, Deputy Defence Minister Vinh noted his appreciation for the performance of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre and a mobile clinic that was given to the country by Russia. The donation represents a very important piece of equipment for the nation and is vital to detecting cases early and effectively preventing the spread of the disease.

Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh (R) and
Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Aleksey Mikhailovich
Medvedev signed the minutes of the 30th meeting of the Intergovernmental
Coordinating Committee on Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre in 2019
(Photo:The Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre) 

These activities indicate that the COVID-19 epidemic will not contribute to disrupting the defence co-operation activities between the two countries. Indeed, both sides will continue to push forward with their co-operation on science and technology at the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre, a facility that plays a very important role in COVID-19 prevention and control nationwide, the Deputy Defence Minister said.

Concerning the achievements of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center and the Vietnam-Russia Joint Committee's contributions to the promotion of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations, Gen. Lieut. Vinh highlighted co-operation in the fields of science and technology as a major feature of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre.

The maintenance and co-operative development of the Center has boosted the reliability of both side as it can serve as a channel for the two countriesto exchange scientific and technological information whilst enhancing personnel training. Moreover, the Center also contributes directly to the performance of military defence tasks as well as to socio-economic development.

One major issue is the large quantity of dioxin that the United States poured throughout Vietnam during the war, leaving serious consequences for the country to this day. Many international organisations and nations, as well as the Government, have mobilized resources to clean up dioxin countrywide, with the US government also helping efforts.

A review of dioxin cleaning is one of the major tasks of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center at present, with the Center doing a good job in terms of this appraisal role. The evaluation results conducted by the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center so far meet the strict requirements of the world's standard laboratories in order to determine the level of dioxin contamination.

"Through this example, I would like to say that scientific-technical co-operation in current environmental issues is a very heavy and urgent task. The military's contribution, though only a small part, has proved very effective and practical to ensure a green and clean environment for the country today," the Deputy Defence Minister noted.