Cairo (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang met with his Egyptian counterpart, General Abdel Mageed Saqr, in Cairo on August 4, part of President Luong Cuong’s ongoing state visit to Egypt.
The Egyptian official raised Vietnam’s role in promoting peace and stability in the region and the world. He underscored the importance of defence ties within the broader bilateral relationship and expressed Egypt’s wish to enhance cooperation with Vietnam in this domain.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese minister highlighted the long-standing friendship between the two countries, stressing that President Cuong’s visit once again demonstrates Vietnam’s commitment to fostering closer ties with Egypt. He noted defence cooperation is an important area that receives strong backing from the leadership of both countries, with substantial potential for growth.
Sharing perspectives on global and regional issues of mutual concern, Giang reaffirmed Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, development, and multilateralisation and diversification of international relations.
Vietnam, he said, aspires to be a friend and reliable partner of all countries and international organisations, and remains steadfast in resolving all disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law. In terms of defence, the nation upholds its “four no’s” policy.
The two sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on high-level delegation exchanges to boost mutual trust and explore cooperation chances, training and capacity building, United Nations peacekeeping operations, along with defence industry and military trade. They also agreed to explore potential areas for future joint work.
Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence welcomed Egyptian defence delegations to visit and work in the country, and expressed interest in deepening engagement through multilateral events. It proposed the two sides consider establishing resident defence attaché offices in each other’s countries.
The Vietnamese side also welcomed the Egyptian ministry’s proposals for collaboration in military training, sharing of experience in weapon maintenance and usage, as well as logistics and military medicine. Giang called for support from the Egyptian side, including from his counterpart, to facilitate the exploration of business opportunities in the Egyptian market by the Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) to tighten links in science - technology, telecommunications, and digital transformation.
Both ministers expressed confidence that bilateral defence ties will witness a breakthrough in the near future, becoming a key pillar of Vietnam – Egypt relations and contributing to peace, stability, and development regionally and globally.
Following the meeting, the two ministries signed a letter of intent to advance defence cooperation.
The same day, Major General Pham Manh Thang, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, visited the Liaison Agency with International Organisations under the Egyptian Ministry of Defence. There, he met with its head, Brigadier General Ayman Shebl Habib. The two sides exchanged experiences and agreed to support each other in enhancing capacity and contributing further to global peace. On this occasion, they signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations./.
