Vietnam-India expand scope of bilateral exercises on UN peacekeeping

On November 4, the opening ceremony of the Vietnam-India Bilateral Exercise on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations 2024 (VINBAX 2024) took place at the headquarters of the 474th Engineer Brigade, Chandi Mandir, Haryana state, India.

According to a VNA correspondent in India, the opening ceremony of the 5th annual VINBAX was attended and co-chaired by Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai and Commander-in-Chief of the Kharga Corps, Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar.

Also attending the opening ceremony were Vietnam's Defense Attaché in India, Colonel Trinh Ngoc Dai; Commander of the Training Center, Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, Colonel Luu Dinh Hien; Commander of Brigade 474 - Brigade Commander - Brigadier General Sumit Kapoor, along with officers from both sides.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai and Kharga Corps Commander-Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar beat the gong to open VINBAX 2024. (Photo: Ngoc Thuy/VNA)

In his opening remarks, Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar highlighted the long-standing historical, cultural and civilizational ties as well as the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Vietnam today.

According to him, this bilateral relationship is further secured with a shared vision for peace, prosperity and people. He said that defense cooperation is an important pillar in the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar pointed out that the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation and the 2015 Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation have provided the broad institutional framework towards this goal.

Furthermore, the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on Defence Partnership Towards 2030 and the Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support highlighted the growing importance of both countries in the Indo-Pacific region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Commander of the Training Center, Vietnam Peacekeeping Department - Colonel Luu Dinh Hien speaks at the opening ceremony. (Photo: Ngoc Thuy/VNA)

He clearly stated that the India-Vietnam friendship is future-oriented and is backed by strategic policy, initiatives and proactive engagement.

Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar emphasized that the purpose of VINBAX is to promote cooperative partnership, promote interoperability and share best practices between the two sides under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter on Peacekeeping Operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

He believes that this is a turning point event in the history of strategic relations between India and Vietnam.

Also at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai stated that Vietnam and India are both peace-loving countries and strive to make practical contributions to promoting peace and stability in the region and the world.

The contributions of the Vietnamese army to the United Nations peacekeeping mission have been recognized and highly appreciated by the international community, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai and Commander-in-Chief of the Kharga Corps - Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar took a souvenir photo with officers of the two countries' forces. (Photo: Ngoc Thuy/VNA)

According to Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai, VINBAX is a symbol of cooperation between the two countries' armies and has promoted the image of the two countries as responsible members of the world community.

There is no more beautiful image than when soldiers of the two countries' armies study hard, train, and sweat on the training ground to bring peace and tranquility to areas devastated by conflict, war, and violence in the world.

In addition, Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai said that in addition to professional activities, VINBAX 2024 is also an opportunity for soldiers from both sides to exchange and learn about each other's cultural, social and traditional heritage values.

This will help strengthen the friendly relations between the military forces, between the two countries and between the two peoples, and promote personal relations between officers and soldiers of the two sides.

Regarding the content of the exercise, Colonel Luu Dinh Hien said that VINBAX has been continuously expanded, from the first exercise on the sand table in 2018 to being upgraded to a field exercise in 2022; from the deployment of military medicine and engineering in United Nations missions to the deployment of air force units and drones in VINBAX-2024.

According to Colonel Luu Dinh Hien, with the theme “Deployment and use of Engineers and Medical Teams in United Nations Peacekeeping Forces to build and promote positive military relations,” VINBAX 2024 will take place as successfully as previous events.

VINBAX 2024 is expected to last until November 23.

Vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-an-do-mo-rong-pham-vi-dien-tap-song-phuong-ve-gin-giu-hoa-binh-lhq-post989290.vnp