Vietnam, Laos hold first border defence friendship exchange

Prominent figures in attendance at the event were Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan Van Giang and his Lao counterpart Chansamone Chanyalath.

Within the framework of the first friendship exchange, a wide range of major activities are launched such as  saluting sovereignty milestones, planting souvenir trees, conducting joint patrols of both nations' border guards, and offering gifts to Lao and Vietnamese students.

During the meeting, the two defence ministers appreciated the results of the 2nd Defence Policy Dialogue, affirming that this is an important mechanism to unify a common perception on regional security issues of shared concern.

Despite suffering the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, defence cooperation between the two countries has been effectively deployed and achieved positive outcomes.

Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan Van Giang emphasized Vietnam's readiness to share difficulties that Laos is facing in the fight against COVID-19. In its capacity, the Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam is ready to support Laos both in terms of manpower and resources on request.

Immediately after the meeting, the two ministers signed a number of important documents to further step up bilateral defence cooperation and cooperation between border guards of the two countries in the coming time.

The organization of the first Vietnam-Laos border defence friendship exchange comes from the direction of the two Parties and States on building a Vietnam-Laos borderline of peace, friendship and stability and cooperation for common development.

The exchange program is also part of the defence diplomacy activities launched by the two defence ministries in 2021.

Some photos featuring the exchange event: