Canada will train Vietnamese officers as part of the effort to strengthen its military ties with Vietnam, Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said Tuesday during his official visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Hanoi is expected to receive assistance from Ottawa in improving its military forces’ capability, according to a memorandum of understanding signed on the same date following a conversation between Sajjan and his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich at the Ministry of Defense’s headquarters in the Vietnamese capital.

The memorandum, which condenses the core contents of their talk, represents a watershed in the military relation between the two countries and serves as a step toward their potential collaboration in other spheres, the Ministry of Defense said.

The record allows Canada to provide Vietnam with training courses in English, military medicine, and removal of post-war bombs and landmines in the Southeast Asian country, Sajjan told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.

Vietnamese officers will also be accordingly geared up for U.N. peace-keeping activities in conflict-stricken areas around the world.

Sajjan said he and Minister Lich discussed measures on enhancing the performance of Hanoi’s maritime patrol in the East Vietnam Sea – a mission which the Canadian minister said Ottawa is confident in.

He supported a peaceful resolution of disputes over the East Vietnam Sea, affirming that no country is allowed to stand above international law and violate freedom of aviation and navigation.

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