Defence Minister Phan Van Giang receives US Ambassador

Hanoi (VNA) – Defence Minister Phan Van Giang hosted a reception on June 3 for US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Evans Knapper.

The minister welcomed the new ambassador and wished him a successful tenure, contributing to promoting the ties between the two countries in general and the two defence ministries in particular.

He affirmed that the two countries and two defence ministries have maintained their ties through high-level visits despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the minister, defence cooperation between the two countries has continued to be rolled out in the spirit of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Advancing Bilateral Defence Cooperation and the 2015 Joint Vision Statement on Defence Relations, producing positive outcomes in a number of fields such as war aftermath settlement, dialogue and consultation, training, search and rescue, humanitarian support, and UN peacekeeping activities.

Giang suggested that the ambassador pay attention to promoting defence cooperation between the two countries, particularly in war aftermath settlement, enhancement of peacekeeping capacity, and military medicine in epidemic prevention and control. He also asked the US side to speed up the pace of the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airport.  

Ambassador Knapper affirmed that bilateral relations in the recent past have continued to develop in line with the US-Vietnam comprehensive partnership, adding that the US will continue to assist Vietnam in fields of Vietnam’s needs.  

He reiterated that the US supports an independent, strong and prosperous Vietnam and wants to promote bilateral relations on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty and political regime.

He pledged to work to promote bilateral defence cooperation during his tenure in Vietnam./.