HANOI, January 24. /TASS/. Moscow and Hanoi have drawn up a 2018-2020 plan of joint military drills and military cooperation, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at talks with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi.

According to Shoigu, at his meeting with Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich earlier on Tuesday, steps to implement agreements reached by the two countries’ presidents were discussed. "We have drawn up a three-year plan, for the 2018-2020 period, which concerns our military cooperation and joint activities, including meetings and drills," the Russian defense minister said.

At a meeting with General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party’s Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, Shoigu noted that the plan stipulated numerous military exercises of various levels, as well as meetings and other events. "We expect that this plan will be signed in the near future," he added.

The Vietnamese president and the Russian defense minister exchanged views on bilateral military and technical cooperation. "Cooperation between our countries is friendly and of strategic and nature," Shoigu noted. In this connection, he pointed to regular bilateral meetings, including summits between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang.