Congratulating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army, Major General Stéphane Richou, Deputy Commander of the French Army, highly appreciated the defense cooperation relationship that has been constantly strengthened and developed between the two armies. 
On the evening of December 17, in Paris, France, the ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944 - December 22, 2024) and the 35th anniversary of the National Defense Day (December 22, 1989 - December 22, 2024) was solemnly held in the spirit of international friendship and solidarity.
Attending the event were Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang; Lieutenant Colonel Le Manh Quyen, Vietnamese Defense Attaché in France; representatives of the French Ministry of the Army, Defense Attaché Offices and Diplomatic Corps of various countries in France, and representatives of associations and overseas Vietnamese.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang reviewed the heroic tradition and glorious career of the Vietnam People's Army. 80 years ago, on December 22, 1944, following the directive of leader Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army, the predecessor of today's Vietnam People's Army, was established.
Over 80 years of building, fighting and growing, the Vietnam People's Army has continuously grown stronger, always demonstrating the mettle of a revolutionary army, born from the people, fighting for the people, worthy of being a special political force, an absolutely loyal and trustworthy fighting force of the Party, State and people of Vietnam.
Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized that the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army as well as other important holidays are occasions for Vietnam to promote the values of a country living in peace, cooperating closely with all members of the international community, and making comprehensive contributions to cooperation, development and mutual understanding around the world.
Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said that 2025 is a very important milestone for Vietnam, marking the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) and the 80th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence read by President Ho Chi Minh on September 2, 1945 at the historic Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. These important milestones symbolize the heroic history of the Vietnamese people on the path to independence, freedom and prosperity.
Regarding the outstanding developments in Vietnam-France relations, defense cooperation is an important pillar, creating a strong driving force for cooperation for peace and development in the Indo-Pacific region and in the world.
Notably, in early October, during the official visit of General Secretary and President of Vietnam To Lam to France, the two sides announced the upgrading of their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is the clearest demonstration of the goodwill and desire to further strengthen the trust and solidarity of the two sides to meet the legitimate needs and interests of the people of the two countries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Manh Quyen, Vietnam's Defense Attaché in France, emphasized that under the protection and care of the people and the help of international friends, the Vietnam People's Army has always been united, upholding revolutionary heroism, together with the entire Party and people, establishing glorious feats in the cause of national liberation, building and defending the Fatherland; creating the Dien Bien Phu victory that resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world; successfully carrying out the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, completely liberating the South, reunifying the country, successfully completing the noble international mission and firmly protecting the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Entering the new era, the Vietnam People's Army continues to promote its heroic tradition, constantly improve its overall quality, strength, level, combat readiness, and well perform the functions of a combat army, a working army, and a production labor army; further embellishing the beautiful image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers," closely attached to the people...
Lieutenant Colonel Le Manh Quyen emphasized that Vietnam's national defense is a national defense of all people, peaceful and self-defensive in nature; actively, proactively, resolutely, and persistently preventing and repelling the risk of war. The Party and State of Vietnam advocate socio-economic development in conjunction with national defense, security, and foreign affairs; closely coordinating national defense and security activities with foreign affairs activities.
Vietnam persistently implements the "4 no's" defense policy: not participating in military alliances; not aligning with one country to fight against another; not allowing foreign countries to set up military bases or use Vietnamese territory to fight against other countries; and not using force or threatening to use force in international relations.
Over the years, the Vietnam People's Army has always proactively promoted international integration and defense diplomacy on both bilateral and multilateral levels, achieving practical results; actively participated in United Nations peacekeeping activities, international cooperation in the fields of non-traditional security, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, overcoming the consequences of war, making worthy contributions to building an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Defense diplomacy has become one of the pillars of the Party's foreign affairs and State diplomacy, an important channel to create and strengthen strategic trust, build and develop Vietnam's friendly relations with other countries and international organizations, contributing to enhancing the position and prestige of the country, people and the Vietnam People's Army.
To date, Vietnam has participated in many regional and international multilateral defense and military mechanisms and forums; has defense cooperation relations with more than 100 countries; of which, it has established Defense Attaché/Military Attaché Offices in 35 countries and the United Nations. 42 countries have established Defense Attaché/Military Attaché Offices in Vietnam.
Since 2014, the Vietnam People's Army has sent nearly 1,500 officers to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan and the Central African Republic, with 5 squads of Level 2 Field Hospital deployed at the UNMISS mission in South Sudan and 2 squads of Engineers deployed at the UNISFA mission in the Abyei region.
These activities of Vietnam have been highly appreciated by the leaders of the United Nations, leaders of relevant countries and local people, which shows that Vietnam has shown itself to be a reliable partner and responsible member of the international community in UN peacekeeping activities.
In addition to delegation exchanges, the two sides also maintain cooperation in the fields of training, military medicine, UN peacekeeping, defense industry, sharing historical memories, and overcoming the consequences of war. In particular, training is a bright spot in cooperation, as Vietnam continues to send students to train as officers at French military schools such as the War School, the Saint-Cyr Special Military School... and France sends teachers to teach French to Vietnamese military students.
The two sides also effectively maintained the annual Vietnam-France Defense Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue mechanism at the Deputy Ministerial level. In December 2023, the 3rd Dialogue was successfully held in Paris and they are actively preparing for the 4th Dialogue in Hanoi.
Congratulating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army, Major General Stéphane Richou, Deputy Commander of the French Army, highly appreciated the defense cooperation relationship that has been constantly strengthened and developed between the two countries' armies.
Vietnam and France also maintain cooperation in the fields of training, military medicine, UN peacekeeping, defense industry, sharing historical memories, and overcoming the consequences of war. The two sides also effectively maintain the annual Vietnam-France Defense Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue mechanism at the Deputy Minister level.
According to Major General Stéphane Richou, the cooperation and friendship between the two countries, including defense, has had important developments in recent times.
The ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam People's Army and the 35th anniversary of the National Defense Day took place in a solemn, friendly and cordial atmosphere, leaving a deep impression on international friends. International guests and friends expressed their impression and warmly congratulated the outstanding growth of the Vietnam People's Army as well as the development achievements in many fields of Vietnam./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phap-chuc-mung-nhung-buoc-truong-thanh-noi-bat-cua-quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-post1002848.vnp
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