The event saw the attendance of VNOSMP Director Le Chi Dung, USAID Vietnam Director Ann Marie Yastischok, representatives from Ministries of National Defense, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, Health, Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, DNA research institutes in Vietnam; as well as scientists from the US Department of Defense and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
Speaking at the event, Director Le Chi Dung affirmed that over the past 45 years, despite the end of the war, it has still exerted severe effects on Vietnamese people’s life.
Particularly, Vietnam is facing difficulties identifying the DNA of martyrs’ remains, especially as it relates to technology and facilities.
Therefore, the seminar was seen as a chance for Vietnamese scientists to learn more about DNA analysis methods from US scientists, and then apply them to the DNA identification of martyrs’ remains in Vietnam.
For her part, the USAID Vietnam Director expressed her thanks to Vietnam for close cooperation in searching for US MIA servicemen in the war.
She added that the US government promised to support the latest technology for Vietnam to identify the remains of Vietnamese fallen soldiers.
During the seminar, experts from the US shared the latest DNA testing methods and processes to identify the DNA of MIA soldiers.
Also, the Vietnamese experts talked to them about several challenges in identifying DNA in Vietnam and received their recommendations for approaches to enhance Vietnam’s DNA identification capacity.
The seminar contributed to improving the effective cooperation between the VNOSMP and the USAID.
Translated by Quynh Oanh