Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia hold annual defence ministerial meeting
Defence ministers of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia convened their annual meeting in Phnom Penh on November 25 to reinforce trilateral cooperation in the field.
At the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia annual defence ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh on November 25 (Photo: VNA)
Phnom Penh (VNA) – Defence ministers of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia convened their annual meeting in Phnom Penh on November 25 to reinforce trilateral cooperation in the field.
Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang noted that the ties are essential for maintaining peace, stability, and development in each nation. Expressing Vietnam’s gratitude for the support from Laos and Cambodia in its past struggle for independence and reunification and current national development, he affirmed the country’s commitment to prioritising and strengthening its trusted and close relationship with the two neighbours.
Lao Defence Minister General Chansamone Chanyalath underscored the military's pivotal role in cultivating and safeguarding the trilateral friendship and solidarity, while his Cambodian counterpart General Tea Seiha praised the effectiveness of such defence collaboration and its contributions to border security, peace, and stability as well as the ASEAN Community’s development.
The three defence ministers reached consensus on several key areas of future cooperation, including the maintenance of the annual meeting mechanism and joint military training and exercises to address non-traditional security challenges as well as the enhancement of public communications and education to reinforce trilateral solidarity and counter misinformation and sabotage from hostile forces. Also important is their border security collaboration, which covers sharing information, conducting joint patrols, and creating conditions conducive to border economic growth. The sides should also continue supporting each other in international and regional forums, particularly within ASEAN mechanisms such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus.
Earlier in the day, the ministers attended a joint rescue exercise in Kampong Chhnang province. Conducted from November 18-25, the exercise focused on disaster response to collapsed structures and involved nearly 700 personnel, including 563 from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, 64 from the Lao People's Army, and 71 from the Vietnam People's Army.
🀅 The delegations also visited Tep Pranom high school in Kandal province, where General Giang and the Vietnamese delegation donated 30 computers to support its teaching and learning activities./.
The defence ministries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia on November 18 launched a joint search and rescue exercise themed "Rescue and relief activities at collapsed structures" at the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia Training Centre in mountainous Chum Sen Rikreay area, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia.
Vietnam will continue consulting with Laos and Cambodia to promote extensive, substantive, effective cooperation among the three countries in line with development requirements in the new period, for the benefits of the their people, the ASEAN Community, as well as regional peace, cooperation and development, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang has affirmed.
Vietnamese President To Lam’s state visits to Laos and Cambodia from July 11-13 have contributed to enhancing the traditional and effective cooperation among the three countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has said.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee is scheduled to convene its 48th session on August 11-13, with August 14-15 set as a backup date, according to the NA Office.
Vietnam’s Ambassador to Brazil and Bolivia Bui Van Nghi has led an embassy delegation to attend official events marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivia’s Independence Day.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
