HANOI: Modern military equipment, fighter jets, bombers, missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, cyber warfare equipment, and other technical equipment are on display at the Vietnam International Defense Expo, which opened on Thursday morning, 8 December, in Hanoi, Vietnam.

According to VietnamNews, the exhibition will run from 8-10 December 2022, covering an area of more than 50,000 square meters. The expo will be attended by 170 defense units and enterprises from 30 countries in the region and around the world (ASEAN, Asia, Europe, and America).

The Vietnamese Prime Minister, Phạm Minh Chính, attended the opening ceremony and remarked that the exhibition, with the participation of foreign partners, "stands as a symbol for trust, friendship, cooperation, and development, and represents the affection of international friends for Vietnam, its people, and the heroic Vietnam People's Army, who always show sincerity and responsibility to international friends."

Aside from the major trend of peace, cooperation, and development, Prime Minister Chính noted that "we are witnessing an increasing number of ever more acute traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and there is a strong need to promote multilateralism and solidarity and close coordination among nations based on justice, reason, and international law."

The strengthening and expanding of international cooperation and diplomacy in defence, and building trust among countries in the world play a very important and decisive role, he said.

The government leader highlighted that Vietnam consistently follows the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization; being a good friend, a reliable partner, and a responsible member of the international community; cooperating for peace, development, equality, and mutual benefit; complying with the Charter of the United Nations; respecting each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and principles of non-interference in each other's internal affairs; and contributing to the cause of peace, national independence, democracy, and social progress all over the world.

The Prime Minister of Vietnam noted that the country’s defense policy is "peace, self-defense, and for the people."

"The heroic Vietnam People's Army is actively participating in appropriate forms of defense cooperation, bilaterally and multilaterally, with countries around the world,” he added.

"Defence industry cooperation, and especially the 2022 International Defence Expo, will open up opportunities for cooperation, research, and studies on development trends of technical equipment, defense industry, and security in the world, diversification of procurement channels, receiving and transferring foreign technologies, and producing, equipping, and supplying equipment and logistics to the armed forces of other countries, to serve the needs of national defense and protect the people from traditional and non-traditional threats."

Following the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Chính and delegates visited booths displaying defense industry products, the Vietnam cultural space, and an area showcasing the country's economy-defence achievements.

According to Major General Lê Xuân Sang, the Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training (General Department of Politics of the People's Army), the purpose of the exhibition is not only to introduce and promote the achievements of the defense industry but also to introduce to international friends the image of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people, and Vietnamese culture.

At the opening ceremony, the Vietnamese air force also conducted an air demonstration with its squadron of Mi military helicopters and fighter aircrafts Su-30MK2 at low altitude over the capital city of Hanoi.