This is the first time a ship of this size, escorted by cruiser USS Lake Champlain and destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer, has visited Vietnam since the war in Vietnam ended, and is under its calls to several regional nations.
The welcome ceremony was hosted by Director of the city’s Department of External Relations Lam Quang Minh and attended by representatives from the Military Region 5 Command, the Department of Foreign Relations under the Ministry of National Defense, the Da Nang Border Guard Command, the Naval Region 3 Command, and other agencies, together with representatives from the US Embassy and agencies in Vietnam.
Then, Minh and Vice Admiral Philip G. Sawyer, Commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet in the Pacific co-chaired a press conference to introduce the visit’s agenda.
Accordingly, representatives of commanders of the US Navy ships will pay courtesy calls to leaders of Da Nang city, the Commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy and the Naval Region 3 Command.
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A view on the USS Carl Vinson |
Meanwhile, groups of US officers and sailors will join community activities in the city, such as music performances, sport exchanges, and visits to SOS Children’s Village, the Sponsor Center for Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims, the Nursing Center for the Mentally Handicapped No.3, the Social Sponsorship Center, and the Center for Orphaned Children.
Additionally, they will also share their technical expertise in water and electricity supply, response to disasters, firefighting, health care and personnel training on aircraft and in several local places.
The nuclear-powered carrier’s visit contributes to boosting the Vietnam-US relations to be on par with their comprehensive partnership and agreements reached by their top leaders and at the same time to maintaining peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region.
Furthermore, the event is expected to improve Vietnam’s logistics and technical capability in welcoming big foreign naval vessels, contributing to heightening the country’s position in the international arena as well as popularizing the images of the country and its people to international friends.
Translated by Van Hieu