Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Ministry ofNational Defence on December 9 organised the “Guest of the Chair” programme onDecember 9 in the form of a teleconference.

The programme, held on the sidelines of the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the seventh ADMM Plus, saw theattendance of ministers and representatives from defence ministries of ASEANmember countries, and the UK, Germany, Canada, and France, among others.

This is the first time the meeting has been convenedthrough the defence channel, said Vietnamese Defence Minister, General Ngo XuanLich, in his opening remarks.

Reviewing the formation and development of ADMM, theminister said the mechanism has created a framework for dialogues andconsultations on strategic defence and security issues at the defence ministeriallevel, thus laying a foundation to reinforce practical cooperation among armiesof the ASEAN countries.

Meanwhile, ADMM Plus (Australia, China, India, Japan, NewZealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the US) aims to intensify peace,stability and development in the region through dialogues, and buildcapacity to respond to common security challenges, he said.

Over the past time, more friends and dialogue partnersof ASEAN have expressed their wish to join the efforts in promoting regionalsecurity and stability through cooperation programmes within ADMM Plus,according to the minister.

Participants spoke highly of Vietnam’s initiativeto organise the event, considering this a good opportunity for ASEAN and itspartners to understand each other more./.