At the ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, said NGOs play an important role in Vietnam, adding that Vietnam maintains relations with more than 1,200 international NGOs. NGOs from the US provide financial support to Vietnam to help Vietnam overcome the war’s aftermath, reduce poverty, improve living standards, health care and education, and cope with non-traditional challenges like climate change.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc said Vietnam and the US share many common interests such as peace, rules-based security and safety, and strategic balance. He looks forward to closer bilateral ties across spheres, Ngoc said.

Founded in 1995, Peace Trees Vietnam’s mission is to heal the legacy of war by removing explosives, returning land to safe use, promoting peace, and cultivating a brighter future for the children and families of Vietnam. The organization has removed 123,000 explosives, planted over 44,000 trees on decontaminated land, run educational projects serving 150,000 Vietnamese people, and built a number of kindergartens and libraries.