Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense General Phan Văn Giang, received United States Ambassador to Viet Nam Jennifer Wicks McNamara in Ha Noi on Thursday, where the two sides discussed measures to advance bilateral defense ties.
At the meeting, General Giang congratulated the ambassador on her tenure in Viet Nam and expressed hope that she would make positive contributions to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
He described defense cooperation as an important pillar of Viet Nam–US relations, noting that bilateral collaboration had been effectively implemented across various fields, including exchanges of delegations, consultations and dialogue, war legacy remediation, training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, cooperation between military services, cybersecurity, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and defense industry.
The minister reaffirmed that Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defense would continue to prioritize cooperation in addressing the consequences of war, building on the effective implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides in October 2025.
He welcomed the signing of two cooperation documents under the Life-Saving Partnership Agreement (LSPA) framework on September 23, 2026, covering a dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airbase and a project to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in localities heavily affected by Agent Orange.
Regarding efforts to search for US personnel missing in action during the war, General Giang affirmed that Viet Nam would continue to create favorable conditions for US search operations.
He also called on the US side to increase the sharing of information, documents and personal artefacts relating to Vietnamese soldiers who died during the war, helping facilitate the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains.
The defense minister also spoke highly of Ambassador Wicks’ recent participation in a scientific workshop chaired by the ministry on strengthening DNA identification capacity for fallen soldiers’ remains.
The minister announced that Viet Nam would host its third International Defense Expo in Ha Noi in December 2026, welcoming the participation of senior leaders and officials from the US Department of War, as well as American defense enterprises.
He expressed hope that US companies would showcase modern defense equipment at the event, contributing to its overall success.
General Giang expressed confidence that, with the ambassador’s support, bilateral defense cooperation would continue to develop effectively in line with the overall relationship between the two countries, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
For her part, Ambassador Wicks thanked the minister for receiving the delegation and expressed satisfaction with the close cooperation between the US diplomatic mission and Viet Nam’s defense ministry.
She affirmed her commitment to promoting bilateral cooperation in areas of shared interest, particularly defense and security, defense industry and war legacy remediation, in line with the Viet Nam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The ambassador also expressed appreciation for Viet Nam’s efforts in addressing war consequences and supporting the search for US personnel missing in action.
She reaffirmed US support for Viet Nam’s 500-day campaign to accelerate the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains.
Ambassador Wicks also briefed the minister on the participation of US companies in the 2026 International Defense Expo in Ha Noi, expressing her hope that the two sides would further strengthen exchanges and make defense cooperation increasingly substantive and effective. — VNA/VNS
