Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the United States continues to develop well and achieve results in many areas. Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien emphasized that Mr. Kelly K. McKeague's visit took place in the context of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and the 35th anniversary of joint activities to search for US soldiers missing in action (MIA), marking an important milestone in the cooperation relationship to overcome the consequences of war between the two countries.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien received Mr. Kelly K. McKeague.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien highly appreciated the contributions of the US Department of Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency in promoting relations between the two countries in recent times, especially in the field of overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam, and affirmed that cooperation in searching for US soldiers missing in action during the war is the first bridge and contact channel between the two countries' political circles, helping the people of the two countries better understand each other's goodwill and humanitarian policies.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that the two sides are continuing to implement cooperation activities according to the annual unified plan. To date, 150 joint and unilateral MIA searches have been carried out, and the 151st joint search is underway. Regarding cooperation in searching for and collecting the remains of Vietnamese martyrs who died in the war, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in searching for and collecting the remains of martyrs (signed in July 2021), the two sides are actively implementing the signed contents, achieving many remarkable results.

To date, the United States has provided Vietnam with more than 30 sets of documents on Vietnamese soldiers who died or went missing during the war, along with many war relics. This is an area in which the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense hopes to continue receiving support from the United States, especially when Vietnam still has about 180,000 unaccounted for martyrs. Regarding cooperation in dioxin remediation and mine clearance, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the two sides have cooperated effectively, achieving many positive results, notably the Dioxin Remediation Project at Da Nang Airport (completed in 2018), and are currently actively implementing projects 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 on overcoming the consequences of post-war bombs, mines, and toxic chemicals.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien presented a souvenir to Mr. Kelly K. McKeague.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that in the coming time, the two sides need to coordinate to promote MIA cooperation, continue to request the US Government to pay attention to supporting Vietnam in the field of overcoming the consequences of war such as: Increasing resources to support Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines, effectively implementing communication projects on cooperation in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines and toxic chemicals/dioxin between Vietnam and the US, promoting the effective implementation of cooperation contents in the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in searching for and collecting the remains of Vietnamese martyrs that the two sides have signed.

For his part, Mr. Kelly K. McKeague said that the potential for cooperation in various fields between the United States and Vietnam is still very large. Mr. Kelly K. Mc Keague emphasized that this visit to Vietnam aims to attend the 50th anniversary of VNOSMP and 35 years of MIA cooperation activities. Mr. Kelly K. McKeague affirmed that the US Government will continue to fulfill its commitments in the field of overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam. Expressing his wish that both the United States and Vietnam will continue to make efforts to promote cooperation in overcoming the consequences of war, Mr. Kelly K. McKeague stated that the US Department of Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Persons Accounting Agency will make every effort to contribute to bringing more efficiency to this field of cooperation.

News and photos: HOANG VU