Washington DC (VNA) – General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defence, on September 8 held a phone call with Patrick Leahy, who served as a Senator from 1975-2023 and President Pro Tempore of the US Senate from 2012 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023, and is currently Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as part of his official visit to the US.

Giang said that his official visit is being made to mark one year since the two countries set up their comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development, with an aim to implement defence cooperation contents reached by high-ranking leaders in the Joint Statement on the upgrade of the relations, and to further promote defence collaboration in various areas, including delegation exchanges, dialogues and consultations, settlement of war consequences, United Nations peacekeeping, training, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, cybersecurity, and military medicine.

Affirming that the Vietnamese government, Ministry of National Defence, and people always remember the contributions of various generations of US Senators to the development of bilateral relations, particularly through cooperation in addressing war aftermaths, Giang noted that this area of cooperation is crucial and significant in the process of reconciliation, healing, and trust building between the two nations and in the history of Vietnam-US relations over the past 35 years.

For Vietnam, addressing war consequences is a humanitarian cooperation area that its State, Government, army, and people deeply care about, he said, highlighting that Vietnam and the US have made significant progress in this field.

The minister showed his belief that the results of cooperation in this field will continue to bring the two countries closer together, and inspire and motivate the people of both nations, particularly the next generations of parliamentarians, to turn this symbolic and humanitarian cooperation into a shared legacy in the bilateral relations and a lesson and model for international cooperation.

Vietnam hopes for continued assistance from the US, with priority to the acceleration of the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Airbase, handling dioxin-contaminated soil at Phu Cat Airbase, clearing unexploded ordnances, and providing information, documents, equipment, and technology for DNA testing to support the search and identification of Vietnamese soldiers whose information were lost or who went missing in the war. For its part, Vietnam is committed to closely cooperating with the US in the efforts to search for their soldiers listed as missing in action (MIA), added Giang.

As 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US and the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam, Giang expressed his hope that the two countries will continue to work closely together to organise meaningful activities related to war legacy remediation on this occasion.

Welcoming Giang on his first official visit to the US as Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, Patrick Leahy expressed appreciation and pleasure at the development of Vietnam-US relations in recent years. He highlighted the progress in overcoming differences and the pain of war to collaborate for a better future, as well as the recent upgrade of their relationship.

The official said that he personally, along with many US Senators who have a special bond with Vietnam, is committed to contributing to the bilateral relationship, particularly through activities related to the settlement of war aftermaths, such as UXO clearance, dioxin remediation, and support for people with disabilities in Vietnam.

🐷 He showed his wish that in the coming time, cooperation on war legacy remediation will remain a foundation for further strengthening bilateral relations, contributing to both countries achieving their shared goals of peace and prosperity./.