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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin receives General Phan Van Giang. |
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Delegates of the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense |
During the talks, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin extended sympathy to General Phan Van Giang over the damages caused by Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam in recent days.
Expressing his delight at General Phan Van Giang’s first official visit to the U.S. as Vietnam's Minister of National Defense, Secretary Lloyd Austin highly appreciated the positive cooperation results obtained by the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties, stating that the elevation of the Vietnam-U.S. relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership laid a good foundation for the future relationship between the two countries in general and defense cooperation between the two militaries in particular.
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At the official welcoming ceremony |
Lloyd Austin emphasized the significance of the cooperation in overcoming war consequences in Vietnam, affirming that the U.S. Government and Department of Defense will continue to assist Vietnam in this field. On the occasion, the U.S. Defense Secretary thanked the Vietnamese side for fulfilling its commitment to supporting the search for the remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action during the war.
For his part, General Phan Van Giang thanked the U.S. side for the warm welcome and expressed his delight at officially visiting the U.S. in the context that the two countries are celebrating the first anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development, towards the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties (1995-2025). The Vietnamese defense minister also affirmed that Vietnam wishes to boost cooperation with the U.S. on the basis of the legitimate interests of both sides, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
At the talks, the two sides evaluated that the bilateral defense cooperation have been constantly promoted and gained practical outcomes in the fields of delegation exchange, dialogue - consultation, war legacy settlement, searching for remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action (MIA), training, military medicine, U.N. peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, to name but a few.
Vietnam highly appreciates the support and commitment of the U.S. Government and people in war consequence relief, including raising the budget for dioxin detoxification project at Bien Hoa Airport, activities to support people with disabilities in localities affected by Agent Orange/Dioxin; providing documents and keepsakes related to Vietnamese soldiers who went missing or died during the war. Vietnam has also closely coordinated with the U.S. to effectively implement joint MIA search activities.
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Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sign the Updated Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam-U.S. bilateral defense relations. |
Regarding cooperation orientations in the time to come, both sides agreed to promote high-level exchanges and contacts and maintain existing dialogue-consultation mechanisms to strengthen mutual understanding and trust, as well as identify areas of cooperation suitable to the needs and capabilities of each side.
The two officials underscored the priority of cooperation in addressing war consequences, with a focus on speeding up the progress of dioxin contamination treatment at Bien Hoa Airport, overcoming the consequences of unexploded bombs and mines, and providing information, documents and supporting equipment and DNA testing technology for the search and collection of remains of Vietnamese martyrs who went missing during the war.
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General Phan Van Giang writing down on the guestbook at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense |
The two countries will boost and deepen cooperation in U.N. peacekeeping operations, training, military medicine, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, consultation and mutual support in regional and international multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+), on the basis of respecting the central role and consensus principle of ASEAN, among others.
Both sides believed that in the time to come, the bilateral defense cooperation would continue to further develop, for the benefit of each country, for peace, stability and common development of the region and the world, contributing to accelerating the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.
On the occasion, General Phan Van Giang invited U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, leaders of the U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. defense industry enterprises to the Second Vietnam International Defense Expo, which is scheduled to take place in Hanoi in December 2024.
Concluding the talks, General Phan Van Giang and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed an Updated Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam-U.S. bilateral defense relations, making active contribution to the relations between the two countries and maintaining peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
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General Phan Van Giang hands over keepsakes of U.S. soldiers who went missing in the war to Lloyd Austin. |
They also handed over several keepsakes in the war to each other and updated information related to Vietnamese and U.S. soldiers who died and went missing in the war.
* Earlier, on the same day, within the framework of the visit to the U.S., the Vietnam Military Medical University and the U.S. Uniformed Services University signed a letter of intent for cooperation in military medicine.
Reported by Thu Trang from Washington D.C., the U.S.
Translated by Quynh Oanh