Hanoi hails outcome of defence talks with India

New Delhi, Dec 18 (UNI) A day after India agreed to supply 5,000 naval spares to Vietnam to make its several ageing ships operational as part of the process of building up on strategic partnership forged between the two nations in July, Hanoi has hailed outcome of the talks between their Defence Ministers in the Vietnamese capital.

During a meeting between Mr A K Antony and General Phung Quang Thanh yesterday, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group (JWG) to work out memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation between the two nations with the objective of taking it to new heights.

Mr Antony, who is on a three-day visit to Vietnam, said these steps "will open a new chapter in defence cooperation between the two countries that will take the strategic partnership ahead".

Welcoming the outcome of the talks, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung complimented the Indian Defence Minister when the latter called on him last evening,an official statement said here today.

Mr Dung said the strategic partnership between India and Vietnam 'will further speed up peace, stability and prosperous development in the region and the world'.

Describing his visit as a continuation of the dialogue that Mr Dung had with Prime Minister Dr Man Mohan Singh here in July, Mr Antony said the two countries are in the process of setting up a JWG for drawing up a comprehensive MoU on Defence Cooperation.

UNI