India, Vietnam to expand defence cooperation in all 3 services
13 Oct 2010
A day after the successful conclusion of the first Asean Plus Eight defence ministers' meeting in Hanoi, in which India played a constructive role in defining the scope and objectives of the forum, defence minister AK Antony today announced a slew of measures to expand defence cooperation with Vietnam.
Antony elaborated the measures at the bilateral meetings with top Vietnamese leadership, including defence minister Gen Phung Quang Thanh and prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Under the agreement, New Delhi will provide support to Vietnam to enhance and upgrade its services capabilities in general and Navy in particular. India will help Vietnam in building capacity for repair and maintenance of its platforms.
The two countries will also cooperate in areas like IT and English training of Vietnamese army personnel. The two sides will work towards developing cooperation among defence institutes and establishing linkages for sharing experience and knowledge.
The two armies will have planned joint training in mountain and jungle warfare in India next year.
Antony also offered assistance to Vietnamese forces in UN peacekeeping operations, in which India has vast experience.