The visit took place shortly after the two countries elevated ties to a Comprehensive Partnership, following Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong’s state visit to Egypt in August.

At the meeting, Maj. Gen. Phan Thi Hoai Van laid stress on Defence Minister Phan Van Giang’s interest in dispatching the delegation to Egypt to bolster bilateral cooperation in the defence industry, in line with the Egyptian side’s invitation and the mutual agreement to strengthen cooperation in this field.

She expressed appreciation for Egypt’s warm reception and said Vietnam hoped to expand defence-industry cooperation through intensified exchanges of delegations, particularly at senior levels. Both sides consented to facilitate exchanges among defence-industry enterprises to better understand each other’s legal frameworks, industrial capacity, and cooperation needs, with a view to identifying practical cooperation areas.

The two sides also agreed to organize a bilateral defence-industry forum and to send business delegations to take part in defence exhibitions hosted in each country.

Maj. Gen. Phan Thi Hoai Van and Minister Mostafa compared notes on orientations for building self-reliant defence industries and on respective industrial strengths as a foundation for establishing a legal framework for bilateral cooperation. They concurred to consider signing a memorandum of understanding on defence-industry cooperation under the broader framework of bilateral defence ties.

The Vietnamese delegation leader said Vietnam will host the third Vietnam International Defence Expo in 2026, extending an invitation to Egypt to bring defence-industry products for exhibition at the event.

For his part, Minister Mostafa welcomed the first visit to Egypt by a senior-level delegation from Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence and its participation in EDEX, and said he would consider paying a visit to Vietnam in the time ahead. He noted that bilateral visits play a vital role in promoting defence and defence-industry cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Mostafa also voiced support for accelerating the signing of the cooperation MoU, adding that Egypt would send a draft agreement to Vietnam at an early date.

During their stay in Egypt, the Vietnamese delegation attended the fourth EDEX at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo, which drew 150 official delegations and more than 40,000 visitors from various countries. The EDEX 2025 exhibition featured displays by over 450 defence companies and groups worldwide.

First launched in 2018, EDEX initially brought together 373 major defence companies from 41 countries.

Vietnam and Egypt to realise newly upgraded partnership framework

VOV.VN - The Vietnam - Egypt Joint Committee should promptly develop an action plan to implement the August 5 joint statement on the upgrade of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership.