ASEAN defense and security cooperation helps speed up community building

PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (center) welcomes Ministers to the 4th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-4), Hà Nội, May 11, 2010 – Photo: VGP

PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on Tuesday made the statement at his welcoming meeting with heads of ASEAN defense delegations to the ADMM-4 in Hà Nội.

He took the occasion to confirm Việt Nam’s sound follow-up efforts to host the next ASEAN meetings and thank leaders of the bloc’s member countries for the valuable contributions to the success of the 16^th ASEAN Summit.

Singaporean Minister of Defense Teo Chee Hean, on behalf of the ASEAN Defense Ministers, said that the ADMM-4 gained two major achievements, namely the joint commitment on further defense-security cooperation and an agreement on the expansion of defense linkages with ASEAN’s partners.

PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (R) meets Indonesian Minister of Defense Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Hà Nội, May 11, 2010 – Photo: VGP

Also on the same day, PM Dũng had separate meetings with Indonesian Minister of Defense Purnomo Yusgiantoro and ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Sayakane Sisouvong who led the ASEAN Secretariat delegation to the ADMM-4.

The Vietnamese Government chief noted that the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Việt Nam and Indonesia have been advancing in a wide range of areas in recent years.

The Indonesian Minister of Defense informed PM Dũng that he and his Vietnamese counterpart Phùng Quang Thanh inked an agreement on defense cooperation a day earlier.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sayakane Sisouvong praised the host country’s exhaustive preparations for the ADMM-4.

By Hải Minh