At the reception, Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien underlined that upgrading the Vietnam-U.S. ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development has created a foundation for the two countries to further promote cooperation in various fields, including defense.

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Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and Ms. Aler Grubbs

The Vietnamese defense leader spoke highly of USAID’s efforts in support Vietnam to implement war legacy settlement in Vietnam, especially the increase in the budget to support dioxin cleanup at Bien Hoa Airport and the additional budget to assist Agent Orange (AO)-affected provinces in Vietnam.

During the official visit to the U.S. of Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang, the U.S. announced a new contract worth up to 130 million USD for dioxin cleanup at Bien Hoa Air Base, thereby showing the U.S.’s commitment to war aftermath settlement in Vietnam.

In the time to come, Gen. Chien asked USAID to coordinate with the Vietnam Ministry of National Defense to effectively carry out cooperation documents on addressing the consequences of war; continue to prioritize mobilizing resources to speed up the progress, aiming to absolutely remediate dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa Airport; closely coordinate to implement the project to support the improvement of the quality of life of people with disabilities in AO-affected provinces in Vietnam; and organize communications activities on overcoming the consequences of post-war bombs, mines and toxic chemicals.

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Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien presents gifts to USAID Director in Vietnam.

For her part, the USAID Director expressed her delight at the successful visits of leaders of the Party and State and the Ministry of National Defense to the U.S., including the visits of Party Secretary and President To Lam and Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang. She emphasized that these were important events for the two countries in the context that the U.S. and Vietnam will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2025.

Applauding the coordination between the two countries in surmounting war aftermath over the past time, Ms. Aler Grubbs affirmed that USAID would continue to closely collaborate with the Vietnam Ministry of National Defense in the project to support people with disabilities in AO-affected provinces in Vietnam; effectively implement the Letter of Intent for communications cooperation signed by Office 701 and USAID in January 2021.

She also stressed that the cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and USAID will contribute to deepening the relations between the two countries and defense ministries.

Translated by Quynh Oanh