Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang received United States Ambassador to Viet Nam Jennifer Wicks McNamara in Hanoi. The two sides discussed measures to advance bilateral defence ties.
General Giang congratulated the ambassador on her tenure in Viet Nam and expressed hope that she would contribute to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
He described defence cooperation as an important pillar of Viet Nam-US relations, saying that bilateral collaboration had been effectively implemented in delegation exchanges, consultations and dialogue, war legacy remediation, training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, cooperation between military services, cybersecurity, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and the defence industry.
The minister reaffirmed that Viet Nam's Ministry of National Defence would continue to prioritise cooperation on addressing the consequences of war, building on the effective implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides in October 2025.
He welcomed the signing of two cooperation documents under the Life-Saving Partnership Agreement (LSPA) framework on September 23, 2026. They cover a dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa airbase and a project to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in localities heavily affected by Agent Orange.
Regarding efforts to search for US personnel missing in action during the war, General Giang affirmed that Viet Nam would continue to create favourable conditions for US search operations.
He also called on the US side to increase the sharing of information, documents and personal artefacts relating to Vietnamese soldiers who died during the war. This would help facilitate the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers' remains.
The defence minister spoke highly of Ambassador Wicks' recent participation in a scientific workshop chaired by the ministry on strengthening DNA identification capacity for fallen soldiers' remains.
The minister announced that Viet Nam would host its third International Defence Expo in Hanoi in December 2026. He welcomed the participation of senior leaders and officials from the US Department of War, as well as American defence enterprises.
He expressed hope that US companies would showcase modern defence equipment at the event and contribute to its success.
General Giang expressed confidence that, with the ambassador's support, bilateral defence cooperation would continue to develop in line with the overall relationship between the two countries, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
For her part, Ambassador Wicks thanked the minister for receiving the delegation and expressed satisfaction with the close cooperation between the US diplomatic mission and Viet Nam's Ministry of National Defence.
She affirmed her commitment to promoting bilateral cooperation in areas of shared interest, particularly defence and security, the defence industry and war legacy remediation, in line with the Viet Nam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The ambassador also expressed appreciation for Viet Nam's efforts to address war consequences and support the search for US personnel missing in action.
She reaffirmed US support for Viet Nam's 500-day campaign to accelerate the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers' remains.
Ambassador Wicks also briefed the minister on the participation of US companies in the 2026 International Defence Expo in Hanoi. She expressed hope that the two sides would further strengthen exchanges and make defence cooperation increasingly substantive and effective.
Sources: Viet Nam News
