Vietnam, US vow to enhance cooperation in dioxin treatment

General Ngo Xuan Lich, Minister of National Defence, received his US counterpart James Mattis in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 15:35

Vietnam, US vow to enhance cooperation in dioxin treatment ảnh 1

The meeting between Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Ngo Xuan Lich (R) and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17 (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA) – General Ngo Xuan Lich, Minister of NationalDefence, received his US counterpart James Mattis in Ho Chi Minh City on October 17.

At the meeting, Lich applauded the US’s cooperation in dioxin decontamination inVietnam over the past time, stressing that Vietnam will focus on overcoming warconsequences, including the detoxification of dioxin contaminated areas,especially at Bien Hoa airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

He proposed the US side actively collaborate with Vietnam in the coming time tosoon implement and complete a project on dioxin treatment at Bien Hoa airport inorder to clean up contaminated land, contributing to fostering economicdevelopment in Vietnam.

For his part, US Secretary of Defence James Mattis affirmed his commitment toenhancing bilateral defence cooperation, particularly in maritime security, humanitarianaid, disaster relief, peacekeeping missions and overcoming war consequences.

He added the outcome of this visit will lay a foundation for the US Government andCongress to continue supporting Vietnam in surmounting the post-war consequencesrelated to dioxin.

Earlier, the US Secretary of Defence visited the dioxin treatment area in BienHoa airport, where the National Steering Committee on the Settlement ofPost-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Steering Committee701) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) are jointlyimplementing a project on dioxin remediation.

Bien Hoa airport is considered as one of the dioxin hot spots in the country withabout 500,000 cubic metres of dioxin contaminated land. Since 2010, theGovernment has assigned the Ministry of National Defence to direct theimplementation of many dioxin treatment projects at the airport, including theconstruction of infrastructure to address dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa airport.

The 270 billion VND (11.8 million USD) project kicked off on September 16, 2017,focusing on disarming war-time mines and bombs, building roads, zoning offdioxin contaminated areas and removing organisations and military works fromthe new detected squalid regions.

On May 11, 2018, USAID and the Air Defence – Air Force Service under theVietnamese Defence Ministry signed an agreement on non-refundable aid for environmentalremediation for dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa airport. The project,estimated to cost 390 million USD, will complete within 10 years.-VNA

VNA

#General Ngo Xuan Lich #Minister of National Defence #James Mattis #dioxin decontamination #Bien Hoa airport #defence cooperation #disaster relief #peacekeeping missions #Vietnam #US #VietnamPlus #Viet Nam News United States

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