Defense minister receives U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam

At the reception, General Giang welcomed Ambassador Knapper to Vietnam, hoping that the diplomat will have a successful term of office, contributing to fostering the bilateral ties between the two countries in general and the two defense ministries in particular.

Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang (right) receives U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Evans Knapper.

He affirmed that the two countries and two defense ministries have maintained their ties through high-level visits despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He thanked the U.S. government for providing COVID-19 vaccine and medical equipment for Vietnam.

General Giang presents a souvenir to Ambassador Marc Evans Knapper.

He stressed that defense cooperation between the two countries has continued to be rolled out in the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation signed in 2011 and the Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations signed in 2015, producing positive outcomes in a number of fields such as war aftermath settlement, dialogue and consultation, training, search and rescue, humanitarian support, and U.N. peacekeeping operations.

General Phan Van Giang suggested that the ambassador pay attention to promoting defense cooperation between the two countries, particularly in war aftermath settlement, enhancement of U.N. peacekeeping capacity, and military medicine in pandemic prevention and control. He also asked the U.S. side to speed up the pace of the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Airport. 

Delegates in a joint photo at the reception

For his part, Ambassador Marc Evans Knapper affirmed that bilateral relations in the recent past have continued to develop in line with the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership in various fields, including defense cooperation. He added that the U.S. will continue to assist Vietnam in fields of Vietnam’s need and hoped to accelerate ties with the country on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty and political system. He pledged to work to promote bilateral defense cooperation during his tenure in Vietnam.

Translated by Chung Anh