Representatives from Vietnamese and US agencies at the ceremony. (Photo: qdnd.vn)

The ceremony, the 164th of its kind, saw the attendance of Deputy Defense Minister Hoang Xuan Chien, Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, representatives from the ministries of defense, foreign affairs and public security and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP). US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper, US Defense Attaché to Vietnam Thomas Bouchillon and representatives of the US MIA Office in Hanoi attended the ceremony.

The remains were found as the result of the 154th joint field activity which lasted from February to April 2024. Vietnamese forensic specialists examined the remains and determined that they might belong to US MIAs from the war in Vietnam.

The joint efforts of the two governments to search and account for US MIAs since the late 1980s have to date identify over 720 US MIAs.

On this occasion, Deputy Defence Minister Chien hosted a reception for US Ambassador Knapper, during which he highly appreciated the US's help for Vietnam to overcome the consequences of war, including raising the budget for the dioxin detoxification project at Bien Hoa airport to 300 million USD, supporting people with disabilities in localities affected by Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin, conducting mine clearance; and cooperating in searching for Vietnamese soldiers who died or went missing during the war.

He proposed that the two sides coordinate to early sign a memorandum of understanding on overcoming the consequences of war in Vietnam.

Ambassador Knapper affirmed that the US Government is committed at the highest level to supporting Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of war, especially in completely cleaning up dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa airport and transferring DNA examination technology for identifying Vietnamese martyrs’ remains.