Vietnam and the United States continue to cooperate closely to overcome the consequences of war.

Toàn cảnh buổi làm việc giữa Thứ trưởng Ngô Lê Văn với Cơ quan kiểm kê tù binh và người mất tích thuộc Bộ Quốc phòng Hoa Kỳ (DPAA). (Ảnh: Thành Long)

A general view of the working session between Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense . (Photo: Thanh Long)

Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van highly appreciated Mr. Kelly McKeague's visit, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the 40th anniversary of the first joint operation to search for American servicemen missing in action during the war, and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

These historical milestones demonstrate how two nations, once enemies, have overcome a difficult past, gradually mending, normalizing, and building relations to the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as it is today.

Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van affirmed that humanitarian cooperation in searching for American servicemen missing in action (MIA) in the Vietnam War has been a priority for the Vietnamese government since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 1973. This stems from the Vietnamese people's tradition of humanity and peace, and their commitment to putting the past behind them and looking towards the future in their relationship with the United States. This is one of the pioneering areas of cooperation, helping to build goodwill and trust, opening the door to cooperation, and making a significant contribution to the healing and development of Vietnam-US relations over the past half-century.

Today, cooperation in searching for MIAs, along with cooperation in addressing the consequences of war in general, continues to play a fundamental role in bilateral relations. The Deputy Minister affirmed that Vietnam continues to fully cooperate and create the most favorable conditions for the United States to carry out MIA activities in Vietnam in a humanitarian spirit and in accordance with the Vietnam-US Joint Statements agreed upon by the high-level leaders of both countries.

Thứ trưởng Ngô Lê Văn khẳng định Việt Nam tạo điều kiện thuận lợi nhất cho phía Hoa Kỳ triển khai hoạt động MIA. (Ảnh: Thành Long)

Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van affirmed that Vietnam always creates the most favorable conditions for the United States to carry out MIA operations. (Photo: Thanh Long)

DPAA Director Kelly McKeague expressed her pleasure at returning to Vietnam; emphasizing that post-war recovery activities in Vietnam, including humanitarian work to search for MIAs, have immense significance in healing the wounds of war inflicted on the people of both countries, and serve as a bridge to improve and develop Vietnam-US relations, becoming a model in international relations.

On this occasion, on behalf of the U.S. Government and the families of U.S. servicemen missing in action in Vietnam, Director Kelly McKeague expressed profound gratitude to the Vietnamese Government, the Vietnam Office for Searching for Missing Persons (VNOSMP), and the local authorities and people for their dedicated assistance in the search for U.S. servicemen missing in action.

To date, with the assistance of Vietnam, the remains of 740 missing US servicemen have been identified and returned to their families.

Director Kelly McKeague affirmed that he and the DPAA will continue to contribute their voices to ensure that Congress, the Government, and US officials continue to support the stable development of Vietnam-US relations, and maintain and expand programs to address the consequences of war in Vietnam. He stated that the DPAA has recently actively petitioned the US Government, after review, to promptly restore projects for demining, dioxin decontamination, support for people with disabilities and war victims, and to provide information and transfer DNA testing technology to assist in the search for Vietnamese fallen soldiers.

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