The Vietnamese delegation at the event

Lich congratulated India on being elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 term.

The two agreed that the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries has been strengthened over time, benefitting the peoples of both and contributing to maintaining peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

They also discussed the results of their respective COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, and the effect the pandemic had on carrying out defence cooperation activities.

The ministers agreed to return to such activities as soon as COVID-19 is fully brought under control, in which they will further bolster cooperation in military medicine, UN peacekeeping operations, the defence industry, and human resources, among others.

Lich expressed his gratitude towards India for its support for and coordination with Vietnam as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UNSC in 2020-21, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

He also invited Singh to attend the online ADMM+ and a ceremony marking a decade of the multilateral meetings, slated for December, and to visit Vietnam once the pandemic has been repelled.

After the talks, the ministers witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement in hydrography./.VNA