An AO/dioxin contaminated area is zoned off in Da Nang city (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Good settlement of post-war matters like AO/dioxin victimsas well as leftover bombs and mines in Vietnam will make contributions toconsolidating and promoting friendship between Vietnam and the US, said NguyenTam Chien, President of the Vietnam-USA Society (VUS).
He made the statement during a reception in Hanoi on March 13 for a delegationfrom the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), led by VFW Senior Vice Commander-in-ChiefKeith E.Harman.
Speaking highly of the exchange programme between the VUS and the VFW whichstarted as far as 1996, Chien said that it helped further mutual understandingand cooperation between the two people, especially veterans of the two countries.
For his part, Keith E.Harman affirmed that the VFW will continue its efforts toheal the pain of war and support activities to address post-war consequences inVietnam.
The search for US servicemen who went missing in action (MIA) during war aswell as orientation to hold the first Vietnam-US veterans business forumscheduled for the end of this year were also discussed at the meeting.
From 1961-1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides -44 million litres of which were AO - over southern Vietnam.
As a result, about 4.8 million Vietnamese wereexposed to the toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions oftheir descendants are living with deformities and diseases as a result of thechemical’s effects.-VNA
VNA
