President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underscored the historical relationship between the Philippines and Vietnam during the state visit of Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang at Malacañan Palace on Friday.
”The Philippines and Vietnam have enjoyed good relations and we have continued to progress in those relationships, whereas before comprised only with our diplomatic connection,” Marcos said.
The president mentioned that the two nations now discuss defense, security, maritime cooperation, and trade. He believes that the visit of the General would provide a stronger push to deepen and broaden the scope of the relationship between the Philippines and Vietnam.
General Phan Van Giang expressed his gratitude to President Marcos and the Philippine government for the warm welcome extended to him and his delegation during his first visit to the country since his appointment as Minister of National Defense in April 2021.
“It is my great honor to convey the greetings and best wishes from our senior leaders from Viet Nam — General Secretary and State President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man,” Phan said.
“And from our side, we highly valued and appreciate the state visit to Viet Nam back in January 2024 and that visit opened up new opportunities to further promote and innovate the strategic partnership between Viet Nam and the Philippines in various areas that you just mentioned,” he added.
General Phan highlighted the strong interactions and Navy-to-Navy exchanges between the Philippines and Vietnam.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. stated that General Phan's visit would strengthen the ties between the Philippines and Vietnam through the signing of the defense cooperation agreement between Manila and Hanoi.
The agreement may further build momentum for cooperation between the defense and military sectors of the two countries.
