The United States Institute of Peace recently held its third annual Dialogue on “Legacies of War and Peace in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.”
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On October 11-12 (Hanoi time), the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) organized the third annual Dialogue on the theme "Legacies of War and Peace in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia" in both in-person and online formats.
The dialogue took place in the context of Vietnam and the US celebrating the first anniversary of upgrading their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, towards the 30th anniversary of normalization of relations in 2025, and especially General Secretary and President To Lam had a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden on September 25 on the occasion of attending the activities of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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| Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung speaks at the ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in New York last September. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA) |
This was the largest event ever, with the participation of about 150 delegates including USIP leaders, representatives of Congress, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US-ASEAN Business Council (USAID), researchers, advocacy groups, non-governmental organizations, and diplomatic representatives of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The Vietnamese delegation included representatives from the Diplomatic Academy, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), the Vietnam Association for Support of Families of Fallen Soldiers (VMFSA), the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) and the War Remnants Museum.
This year's dialogue focuses on two main topics: reviewing one year of establishing the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and publishing the USIP report on Vietnam-US reconciliation.
In addition, within the framework of the dialogue, there were also discussions on the following topics: Regional cooperation between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with the US; Initiative to count the dead and missing in action during the Vietnam War; Diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges; Support for people with disabilities and survivors in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; Cooperation in displaying war legacies at the War Remnants Museum; Progress in mine clearance and environmental restoration; Vietnamese Americans and war legacies; Transnational crime, human trafficking and cyber fraud in Southeast Asia.
Speaking at the workshop, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung emphasized the very effective cooperation between the two countries not only in overcoming the consequences of war, but also in other fields since the upgrading of bilateral relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Ambassador thanked the US side for sharing documents to help search for martyrs' remains.
Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper both emphasized that 2025 not only marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries, but also the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so the results achieved are very proud.
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| Author of the book War and Peace October 1967 David Maraniss speaks at the forum “The US War in Vietnam: Looking Back 50 Years,” held recently in Burlington. (Photo: Kieu Trang/VNA) |
Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the committee has passed a bill that would provide $73 million to help clear unexploded ordnance in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
He affirmed his commitment to work with his colleagues in the US Congress to support programs to overcome the consequences of the Vietnam War, such as clearing remaining bombs and mines, supporting victims of Agent Orange and children with disabilities, searching for soldiers from both sides missing in action, etc., not only helping to heal past wounds but also cooperating with Vietnamese partners to face common challenges in the present and in the future.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jed Royal said that defense cooperation and shared security interests between the US and Vietnam have been growing deeper and deeper.
An important part of defense cooperation is continuing to address the legacy of the Vietnam War, including accounting for those missing in action, both American and Vietnamese, as well as dioxin remediation and unexploded ordnance removal, and raising awareness among local populations about the dangers of unexploded ordnance.
To date, about 700,000 unexploded bombs and mines have been removed, Vietnam has helped identify 700 US soldiers killed in the war and supported the repatriation of their remains.
In an interview with a reporter from the Vietnam News Agency, Dr. Pham Lan Dung, Acting Director of the Diplomatic Academy, said this was the third time Vietnam had attended the dialogue and this year, the Vietnamese delegation had a larger number and participated in more discussion sessions.
Compared to last year's workshop organized by USIP, this year's workshop attracted more attention. Among the guests were congressmen, representatives of states, both US and Vietnamese ambassadors, various groups, organizations... showing a very high level of interest from both sides.
Both sides have a clearer understanding of the remaining issues and see the need for joint efforts in reconciliation and overcoming the consequences of war.
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| Overview of the "US War in Vietnam: Looking Back 50 Years" forum earlier this month in Burlington. (Photo: Kieu Trang/VNA) |
This year's conference created an optimistic atmosphere, creating momentum for promoting bilateral relations and the two sides also set more expectations for the coming year.
Evaluating the USIP report on Vietnam-US reconciliation, Dr. Pham Lan Dung commented that this is one of the most comprehensive and in-depth reports ever in this field.
The study has a theoretical and practical approach, based on interviews with many individuals from both sides, representatives of the two governments, thereby providing a fairly balanced, historical perspective, helping to better understand the extraordinary efforts of both sides, from being enemies in the war to understanding each other better, building trust, normalizing and upgrading relations to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This study is a very good document serving the field of training and research on reconciliation between Vietnam and the US, and at the same time becoming a model for stakeholders in conflicts in the world in general to learn from.
According to Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, senior Southeast Asia expert at USIP, co-author of the report on Vietnam-US reconciliation, next year there will be many events between the two countries such as the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, 30 years of normalization of relations, USIP plans to open an exhibition on Vietnam-US relations from April to July 2025, emphasizing achievements in overcoming the consequences of war such as mine clearance, helping victims of Agent Orange...
In addition, USIP also organizes seminars and talks on Vietnam-US relations, attracting the attention of the American public and press because this is the greatest opportunity to promote the progress of Vietnam-US relations, especially the implementation of specific commitments after the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
According to Vietnamplus.vn
https://www.vietnamplus.vn/doi-thoai-thuong-nien-lan-thu-ba-ve-khac-phuc-hau-qua-chien-tranh-viet-nam-post983060.vnp
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/doi-thoai-thuong-nien-lan-thu-ba-ve-khac-phuc-hau-qua-chien-tranh-viet-nam-206047.html
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