Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh on March 14 received US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Samuel Perez, who is here for a working visit.

Deputy Minister Vinh spoke highly of the growing comprehensive partnership, including defence ties, between Vietnam and the US, adding that the two sides should exert more efforts to carry out contents of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral defence cooperation.

He asked the US to provide more assistance and share experience with Vietnam in the building of a peacekeeping force and personnel training, while paying more attention to joint activities in mine clearance and overcoming war consequences.

The Vietnamese defence official also suggested furthering the relations between the two countries’ navies and marine police forces as well as cooperation in the search for missing-in-action (MIA) servicemen in Vietnam.

Perez thanked the Vietnamese government and army for facilitating the MIA search. He said the US will continue to recommend suitable models in mine clearance and peacekeeping force building to Vietnam.

The same day, Deputy Defence Minister Vinh also greeted Ambassador Stefano Toscano, Director of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).-VNA