Vietnam, Myanmar agree to deepen defence ties

Hanoi, Vietnam - In a significant boost to bilateral relations, Myanmar's President Min Aung Hlaing and Vietnam's President To Lam agreed on Saturday to strengthen defense and security cooperation. The two leaders met in Hanoi, with Lam hosting Hlaing at the National Assembly House. The agreement elevates defense and security cooperation to a core pillar of the bilateral relationship, according to a government statement.

The leaders discussed expanding military training, exchanges between young officers, search-and-rescue operations, disaster response, and information sharing. They also committed to strengthening political trust through additional high-level exchanges and maximizing the use of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Vietnam's leader emphasized that Vietnam was prepared to share its experience in national development, focusing on economic security and sustainable growth. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment not to allow any individual or organization to use each other's territory for activities against the other nation.

The talks took place during Hlaing's first official visit to Vietnam as Myanmar's president. Both countries also pledged to deepen economic, trade, and investment ties, identifying opportunities in high-tech agriculture, food processing, telecommunications, information technology, digital transformation, energy, and transport infrastructure.

On Friday, Hlaing visited a VinFast electric vehicle factory in northern Vietnam and the telecoms group Viettel, highlighting Myanmar's interest in expanding cooperation in technology, telecommunications, and industrial development with Vietnam.