Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh (Photo VNA)Washington, D.C. (VNA) – The US’sgrowing cooperative relations with Asian countries, including those from theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in various fields, willsignificantly contribute to regional peace, security and developmentcooperation.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinhmade the remarks while addressing a Lunar New Year meeting held by the US-AsiaInstitute (USAI) in Washington, D.C. on March 2.
The diplomat welcomed important contributions ofthe USAI and hoped the institute will strengthen coordination with Asian andASEAN embassies in the US to promote the Asia-US partnership.
The USAI was established in 1979 with a view tofostering the US’s rapports with the Asian-Pacific region at the governmental,parliamentary, and people-to-people levels.
In 2017, the USAI presented a medal toAmbassador Pham Quang Vinh in recognition of his remarkable contributions tothe development of ASEAN-US relations on the occasion of the 50th foundinganniversary of the bloc and the 40th anniversary of ASEAN-US diplomatic ties.
Earlier the same day, Ambassador Vinh hosted areception for Kelly McKeague, Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency(DPAA) under the US Department of Defense whose mission is to recover missingpersonnel listed as Prisoners of War (POW), or Missing in Action (MIA).
The two sides spoke highly of the developmentmomentum between Vietnam and the US, including cooperation in humanitarian aidand addressing war consequences such as disarming unexploded bombs and minesleft over from war, Agent Orange/Dioxin remediation, and search for the remainsof US servicemen missing in action during wartime in Vietnam.
McKeague thanked the Vietnamese government andpeople for supporting humanitarian assistance activities and said he isscheduled to visit Vietnam this month to promote mutual trust and bilateralcollaboration in the field.-VNA
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