Socialist Republic of Vietnam

ANSWER BY MOFA’S SPOKESPERSON, MR. LE DZUNG,
TO CORRESPONDENTS ON NOVEMBER 6th , 2003

Many correspondents: Please advise the programme, significance and purposes of the US visit by Defense Minister Pham Van Tra, agenda of the talks and other meetings?

Answer:

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1995, the Vietnam-US relations have recorded encouraging progresses in many fields. The relationship in the field of defense has also been established and developed step by step. Former US Defense Secretary W. Cohen visited Vietnam in March 2000 . The visit to the US by Defense Minister Pham Van Tra is aimed at reciprocating the visit by former Defense Secretary Cohen and enhancing mutual understanding between the two armies.

This is the first visit to the US by a Vietnamese Defense Minister. We believe that the visit will contribute to enhancing mutual understanding between the two armies and peoples and developing Vietnam-US relations in the principle of respecting independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. Hopefully, the visit will open up new prospects for more visits by military delegations from the two countries later.

As scheduled, Defense Minister Pham Van Tra will hold talks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, meetings with several US officials to exchange views on issues of mutual concern, including overcoming war consequences such as issues of Vietnamese and American missing-in-action, Agent Orange and cooperation programs on mine clearance…