Minister of Defence Phan Văn Giang (right) and US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Evans Knapper during their talks in Hà Nội on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Tuấn

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Defence Phan Văn Giang hosted a reception on Friday for US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Evans Knapper in Hà Nội.

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 Biên Hòa airbase.  

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

He reiterated that the US supports an independent, strong and prosperous Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam. — VNS