Since its establishment, the Vietnam People’s Army has always grasped thoroughly and implemented strictly the guidelines and foreign policies of the Party and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

By the end of 1949 and the beginning of 1950, meeting the demand of the expansion of the foreign relations between the Vietnam People’s Army and the armed forces of the countries, the General Military Committee of the Party Central Committee (the present-day Military Party Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam) and the Ministry of National Defence set up the Special Entertainment Committee to receive delegations of the armed forces of foreign countries visiting and working with the Vietnam People’s Army. On May 28, 1964, the Liaison Foreign Relations Department-Ministry of National Defence, now the Foreign Relations Department-Ministry of National Defence, was founded, which assumed the task of advising the Military Party Committee of the Central Committee and the Ministry of National Defence to work out measures and policies in controlling, guiding and organizing the activities conducted by the Vietnam People’s Army in the field of foreign relations.

During the wars of resistance against foreign aggression for the defence of the Motherland, the Ministry of National Defence has exchanged military delegations, received and used efficiently the assistance from international friends; exchanged and studied the experience of war and military science; established and put into operation Vietnam Offices of Defence Attache in foreign countries, and approved and coordinated with Offices of Defence Attache of foreign countries in Vietnam.

After the reunification of Vietnam, the external activities of the Vietnam People’s Army have been further promoted. Leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence have visited many countries to express thanks for their support to the Vietnamese people and the Vietnam People’s Army in their struggle to defend the independence, national reunification and the socialist construction, and simultaneously exchange experience on building up the armed forces in the new period. Since 1986, in line with the renewal policy of the Vietnam Communist Party, with the guideline “Vietnam is ready to befriend with, and be a trusted partner of all countries in the international community”, the relations between the Vietnam People’s Army and the armed forces of neibouring countries, of ASEAN and of traditional friendly countries have been expanded, restored, strengthened and developed; the relations with European countries have been established and diversified; the relations with the United States opened; and the relations with many countries in Africa (South Africa, Angola, Republic of Congo and Mozambique etc) and in Latin America (Brazil, Argentina and Chile) by means of exchanging visits by the leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and those of other countries.

At present, Vietnam has established defence relations with more than 60 countries and set up its Defence Attache Office in 24 countries. There are 34 Defence Attaches of foreign countries both residing in Vietnam and those who are accredited to Vietnam but residing abroad, of whom 5 are Permanent Members of the Security Council of the United Nations.

The foreign relations activities conducted by the Vietnam People’s Army have made a worthy contribution to the common achievements of Vietnam People’s Army into a revolutionary, standardized, crack and gradually modern army, thus helping to safeguard peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Source: ADMM