US Under Secretary of State welcomed in Hanoi

Hanoi, March 4 (VNA) – Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc welcomed Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security for the US State Department, on her first visit to Vietnam at a reception held in Hanoi on March 3. During the meeting, both sides discussed measures to implement the bilateral comprehensive partnership in the context that the two countries are celebrating 20 years of normalisation of diplomatic ties. They sought cooperation in addressing war aftermaths, including the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) of war. Ngoc welcomed the US side’s collaboration in clearing UXOs and proposed accelerating the implementation of projects in the field as well as other activities to deal with war consequences under a joint statement between State President Truong Tan Sang and President Barack Obama in July, 2013. He affirmed that Vietnam will continue working with the US in the issue of non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons. Rose Gottemoeller, in turn, spoke of the moves by Vietnam in the non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons, particularly the signing of an agreement on peaceful uses of civil nuclear energy with the US and the participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). She told the host that she had a useful visit to central Quang Tri province where she witnessed the close and efficient coordination between the locality and the US side in carrying out bomb and mine clearing projects. She affirmed that she will work to seek more Government resources to aid the deployment of more projects in this field. Both sides also discussed measures to maintain peace, stability, navigation and aviation freedom and safety in the East Sea, on the basis of respecting international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully adhering to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and working forward the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea. On the day, the US guest was also received by Deputy Minister of Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, who stated that defence cooperation between the two countries made progress forwards with efforts dealing with war consequences like assistance to Agent Orange victims gaining practical results. The US side pledged to step up connection across the settlement of natural calamities, search and rescue operation, security maintenance, aviation safety as well as the sharing of experience in UN peacekeeping operation. The US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security stayed in Vietnam from March 1-3, as part of her visit to four Asian-Pacific countries from February 27-March 9. The others include the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand./.