Vietnam, Cambodia enhance defence cooperation

Maj. Gen. Pham Truong Son (R) presents a gift to Lieut. Gen. Neum Balen. (Photo: VNA)

Maj. Gen. Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), hosted a reception in Hanoi on August 18 for Lieut. Gen. Neum Balen, head of the Operations Department under the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces High Command.

Speaking at the meeting, Son said that in the coming time, the Departments of Operations of the two armies should strengthen coordination and direct the implementation of tasks set out in the 2023 cooperation plan between the two defence ministries, work closely to maintain security and order in border areas, and step up training and assistance for each other.

Leaders of the VPA’s General Staff always support and create all favourable conditions for the two departments to intensify cooperation, thus contributing to further deepening the Vietnam-Cambodia defence ties, he added.

Informing the host of the outcomes of the talks between his delegation with a delegation of the VPA General Staff’s Operations Department, Neum Balen said that the two sides had exchanged views on important cooperation contents, and agreed to coordinate in implementing activities for 2023 such as anti-terrorism drills, a border defence friendship exchange between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by the year-end, and search for the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed while carrying out international missions.

He expressed his hope that the two sides will maintain cooperation and mutual support to contribute to strengthening friendship between the armies and people of Cambodia and Vietnam for peace and stability in the region./.