Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang received the US Congressional Delegation

On the afternoon of April 8, in Hanoi, General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense , received a delegation of US Congressmen led by Senator Jeff Merkley who are visiting and working in Vietnam.

Photo caption — *Overview of the reception. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA*

On behalf of the leadership of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, General Phan Van Giang welcomed Senator Jeff Merkley and the US Congressional Delegation to Vietnam. The delegation's visit is of great significance, taking place in the context of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership. General Phan Van Giang expressed his belief that the visit will be successful, contributing to further promoting the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries. Affirming that Vietnam always considers the United States one of its important partners, Minister Phan Van Giang emphasized that Vietnam wishes to promote relations with the United States on the basis of respecting each other's independence, sovereignty and political institutions, for the benefit of the two countries, for peace , stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. Over the past time, the Vietnam - US Comprehensive Partnership has continued to develop well, bringing about efficiency in many fields. In that context, the defense cooperation relationship has been implemented by both sides in accordance with the general relationship between the two countries in the spirit of signed documents and agreements, achieving positive results in areas such as: Dialogue - consultation, delegation exchange, overcoming the consequences of war, training, search and rescue, United Nations peacekeeping, military medicine... In particular, cooperation activities in the field of overcoming the consequences of war have always been prioritized by the two countries. Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the two sides have effectively cooperated in the field of overcoming the consequences of war, achieving many positive results, notably the Dioxin Remediation Project at Da Nang Airport and projects being implemented such as: Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airport; supporting the improvement of the quality of life for Vietnamese people with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with dioxin; communication activities on overcoming the consequences of bombs, mines, and toxic chemicals after the war. On March 7, the two sides successfully held a handover ceremony to return the dioxin-treated site in the southwest area of Bien Hoa airport, with nearly 3 hectares of dioxin-contaminated land cleaned and restored to ecological condition, forming a green park to serve the people.

On this occasion, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the sentiments and contributions of US Congressmen in the field of cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam, especially the great contributions of Senator Patrick Leahy, former Permanent Chairman and Chairman of the US Senate Appropriations Committee. Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense respectfully requests US Congressmen to pay attention and promote the US Congress to continue supporting the implementation of defense cooperation contents between the two countries according to signed documents and agreements, focusing on the fields of overcoming the consequences of war, training, military medicine, United Nations peacekeeping, etc.

Minister Phan Van Giang expressed his belief that with the efforts of the agencies and functional units of the two sides, the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries in general and the Vietnam-US defense cooperation in particular will have new, more comprehensive and substantive developments.

Thanking General Phan Van Giang for taking the time to meet him, Senator Jeff Merkley affirmed that in his position, he will continue to promote cooperation with Vietnam; in which he will pay special attention to the field of overcoming the consequences of war, on the basis of inheriting the legacies left by previous US Senators. Senator Jeff Merkley said that the US Congress has approved a support package for the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airport with an amount of 300 million USD. On this occasion, Senator Jeff Merkley presented the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense with a set of documents including some information about Vietnamese soldiers missing and missing during the war in Vietnam. General Phan Van Giang presented Mr. Patrick Leahy with a film about Senator Patrick Leahy's contributions to promoting relations between the two countries, including activities to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam.