Senator John McCain (M) at a press conference in Hanoi on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam on January 19, 2012 (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The USEmbassy will open a condolence book for late Senator John McCain who passedaway on August 25 (US time) at the age of 81, the embassy and the ConsulateGeneral in Vietnam announced on August 26.
The book will be available forsigning at the Vuon Hong Building, No 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi from 10am to5 pm from August 27-29.
The embassy said in honour ofthe contributions of the Senator and his long-time partner in US-Vietnam issues– John Kerry, the US diplomatic mission in Vietnam will launch the McCain/Kerryprogramme.
[Senator McCain - who helps lay foundation for Vietnam-US relations - passes away]
The programme will sponsor astudy trip of a young Vietnamese official to the US each year, thus further deepeningthe relations between the two nations and promoting the constructive heritageof Senator McCain.
McCain was one of the first persons campaigning for the normalization ofUS-Vietnam relations through promoting humanitarian issues such as removingunexploded ordnance left by the war, searching for missing-in-action personnel,supporting people with disabilities caused by the war, and detoxifying areaspolluted by dioxin.
In 1994, the US Senate approved a resolution sponsored by McCain andSenator John Kerry, calling to end the economic sanction against Vietnam,paving the way for the normalization of relations between the two countries oneyear later.
Following the normalization of bilateral ties, McCain and Kerry visitedVietnam many times to address the issue of American missing-in-action soldiers(POW/MIA).
Along with pushing for the normalization of relations with Vietnam,Senator McCain also supported the Vietnamese community in the US, serving as abridge between them and the US authorities as well as the VietnameseGovernment.-VNA
