Lich, who is on US visit fromAugust 7-10, said Vietnam considers the US one of the top important partnersand always prioritises developing bilateral ties based on the principles ofequality, respect for political regime, independence, sovereignty and territorialintegrity of each country.
He spoke highly of the US’scollaboration with the Vietnamese coast guards in law enforcement at sea aswell as in the United Nations peacekeeping mission.
The two officials hailed theoutcomes of bilateral ties on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding onpromoting defence links and the Declaration on the Joint Vision on bilateraldefence ties covering the exchange of all-level delegations, training, dialogueconsultation, maritime security, search and rescue, bomb and mines clearance, AgentOrange/dioxin detoxification, and United Nations peacekeeping activities.
They agreed to reinforcecoordination under signed agreements, with priority given to post-war recoveryefforts in Vietnam, response to non-traditional security challenges and the UNpeacekeeping activities.
About dioxin clean-up incontaminated areas, Lich said the two sides have concluded the first stage ofthe Da Nang airport remediation project and are embarking on the second stageto serve the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2017. They arealso conducting studies to launch a similar project at Bien Hoa airport in thesouthern province of Dong Nai.
Host and guest also talkedabout the upcoming Vietnam visit by a US aircraft carrier, saying that agenciesconcerned will further discuss the trip when the carrier meets necessarytechnical requirements.
Mattis, for his part, laudedVietnam for its effective joint efforts in seeking remains of US servicemenlisted as Missing in Action (MIA) during the war.
He pledged continued supportto Vietnam in seeking remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in the war andcleaning up the traces of dioxin at Bien Hoa airport.
On the occasion, Lich handedover a new document on locations of searching remains of MIA servicemen to thehost, making it easier for both sides to continue the effort.
In the afternoon the sameday, Lich visited the US Coast Guard.-VNA