Vietnam, US continue to cooperate in overcoming war consequences

Addressing the workshop held by the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war UXO and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Office 701) and the US Stimson Center, Colonel Le Dinh Vu from Office 701 said that over the past 25 years, the two countries had carried out diverse development cooperation activities, including seeking MIA; clearing bombs, mines and especially detoxifying the dioxin-contaminated environment in Vietnam

Notably, during 32 years of joint operation between Vietnam and the US since 1988, nearly 1,000 sets of remains have been returned, and the successful implementation of the dioxin pollution treatment project at Da Nang Airport organized. At present, authorities of the two countries continue to implement the phase 1 of the dioxin treatment project at Bien Hoa Airport; and organize cooperation activities to overcome the consequences of bombs and mines after the war in Vietnam.

According to Office 701, in the upcoming time, authorized agencies will continue to realize contents noted by the two countries’ leaders in the joint declarations, especially the Vietnam – US joint declaration during the Vietnam visit by US President Donald Trump in November 2017. Specifically, they will continue to cooperate in implementing the dioxin treatment project in Bien Hoa Airport in Dong Nai province; implement projects to assist Vietnamese with disabilities in the provinces sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin, in order to improve the quality of life and ensure social integration for people with disabilities; implement the Memorandum of Understanding and nine points of cooperation on overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines; and organize the search for missing soldiers during the Vietnam War.

At the workshop, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc said that cooperation in overcoming and resolving the consequences of war plays an important role in the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two sides, and deepening the trust between the two countries.

Regarding the achievements of cooperation in the past 25 years between Vietnam and the US, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink said that the two sides had achieved important development steps in many fields such as education, health, energy and security, contributing to showing mutual trust in a common direction, for peace, stability and the process of striving for a commitment to prosperity./.