Vietnam - US signed cooperation agreement to strengthen overcoming war consequences

Photo caption — Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense , and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper signed the Memorandum of Understanding. Photo: Trong Duc/VNA

Co-chairing the signing ceremony were Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Head of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Overcoming the Consequences of Post-War Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemicals in Vietnam (National Steering Committee 701) and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Evans Knapper.

The Memorandum of Understanding is designed to realize the commitments of the two countries' senior leaders in the 2023 Joint Statement on upgrading Vietnam-US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace , cooperation and sustainable development; built on the Vietnam-US Joint Vision Statement on Defense Cooperation signed in 2024; the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam and the Department of Defense (now the Department of War) of the United States of America signed in 2011, updated in 2022.

Reporting on the content of the Memorandum of Understanding, Colonel Can Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Military Science, Chief of the Office of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Overcoming the Consequences of Bombs, Mines and Toxic Chemicals after the War in Vietnam (Office 701) said that the Memorandum of Understanding was signed to further strengthen cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam in 5 areas: Overcoming the consequences of contamination of bombs, mines and explosives after the war in Vietnam. Improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, regardless of the cause, in provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange. Handling dioxin related to the Vietnam War at Bien Hoa airport. Maintaining support for searching, collecting and identifying the remains of Vietnamese martyrs. Providing comprehensive cooperation in searching for US soldiers missing in action in the war in Vietnam.

With 5 identified cooperation scopes, the implementation content focuses on activities of sharing information, documents and relics; exchanging experiences, supporting training, coaching, scientific research and technology application; promoting contacts, exchanging delegations, organizing conferences, seminars, communications and implementing projects and programs according to the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding.

At the same time, the two sides also clearly defined the role of each side in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding and general regulations on implementation. Each side established a working group to facilitate the exchange, development and evaluation of plans. The Vietnamese working group was headed by the Chief of Office 701. The US working group was headed by the US Political Counselor in Vietnam, representing the US Department of State, and the US Senior Official in Vietnam, representing the US Department of War.

Emphasizing that the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding is an extremely important and meaningful event on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that in recent times, the functional agencies of Vietnam and the United States have coordinated very closely to carry out cooperation activities to overcome the consequences of war, achieving many outstanding results.

Notable examples include the successful remediation of dioxin-contaminated areas at Da Nang airport and currently underway at Bien Hoa airport; support to improve the quality of life for more than 30,000 victims of Agent Orange/dioxin and people with disabilities in 6 provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin; searching for and returning more than 990 sets of remains of US soldiers missing in action during the war in Vietnam; and organizing many training sessions to improve the capacity of teams working to overcome the consequences of post-war bombs and mines.

At the same time, US organizations and individuals have provided about 800,000 pages of documents and relics related to Vietnamese soldiers who died or went missing during the war to serve the search and collection work. These cooperation results have demonstrated the political determination of the Government, the Ministry of National Defense, and functional agencies of Vietnam and the very goodwill and effective cooperation spirit of the US side in overcoming the consequences of war.

Affirming that the Memorandum of Understanding demonstrates a very strong commitment between the parties, including the US Department of War, the US Department of State and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense - the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 701 to strengthen cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien expressed his belief that the Memorandum of Understanding will be the basis for Vietnam and the United States to continue to cooperate closely, achieving many more important, outstanding and meaningful results in the coming time, in order to soon complete the work of overcoming the consequences of war, contributing to continuing to strengthen the belief in the strong development of the Vietnam - US comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Expressing his impression of the achievements that the United States and Vietnam have made in cooperation to overcome the consequences of war in recent times, Ambassador Marc Evans Knapper affirmed that the United States acknowledges, appreciates and thanks Vietnam for its coordination and contributions in cooperation to overcome the consequences of war in general and the search for US soldiers missing in action (MIA) in particular.

According to Ambassador Marc Evans Knapper, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding reaffirms the strong spirit of cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. Cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war is a solid foundation for the two countries to continue developing bilateral relations in other areas, elevating bilateral relations to new heights in the coming time.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-hoa-ky-ky-ket-hop-tac-ve-tang-cuong-khac-phuc-hau-qua-chien-tranh-20251031133415133.htm