New York (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 15 (US time) had meetings with American friends who have stood by Vietnam and its people aspart of his working visit to the US.

In the meeting with John McAuliff and group of US who have helped supportVietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, PM Chinh said other thanfuture-looking items of bilateral cooperation, the Vietnamese delegation hasalso discussed with the US side on the handling of war consequences that stillhaunt Vietnam to this day.

There are still three million people suffering from the impacts of AgentOrange, not to even mention the risks of continuing diseases and deformitiesafflicting future generations, the millions of hectares of contaminated lands,he said. As many as 200,000 Vietnamese martyrs have still not been found, whileunexploded bombs and mines continue to threaten the safety and livelihoods ofmany Vietnamese people.

TheVietnamese Government leader expressed gratitude for McAuliff and Americanfriends who have supported Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and assisted Vietnamin handling war consequences.

For his part, McAuliff thanked PM Pham Minh Chinh in particular and Vietnam in generalfor the goodwill to put aside the past and look toward the future, and for thecooperation between the two countries in handling war consequences – includingthe search for US persons missing in action (MIAs) in the war in Vietnam, whichhas contributed to the healing process.

The PM hoped the American friends to have more robust, effective measures andpractical programmes to address the most urgent issues in handling war legacies– including the decontamination of Bien Hoa airbase, livelihood support for theAgent Orange victims, support for genetic analysis to identify martyrs, andespecially inspiring younger generations to continue their works – incoordination with the Vietnamese agencies through the help of the Ministry ofForeign Affairs.

The same day, PM Chinh also met a number of close friends with Vietnam, whohave made active contributions and always supported Vietnam during the war aswell as during present nation-building efforts.

Attending the meeting were Merle Ratner and some colleagues who are co-foundersand coordinators of an organisation that advocates for relief andresponsibility for victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam; Jay Johnson, who used tojoin the first group of US soldiers to resist the draft to be sent to fight in Vietnamand was sentenced to 28 months in prison; Susan Schnall, a former US Navynurse, who with her husband used a plane to drop leaflets calling on soldiersto resist the order to deploy to Vietnam, as well as some active members ofleft-wing movements in the US.

American friends expressed their impression with Vietnam’s great achievementsafter 35 years of doi moi (reforms), announced a number of activities beingcarried out to continue supporting Vietnam, and had discussed with theVietnamese leader on the situation in Vietnam, the region and the world.

PM Chinh stated that Vietnam steadfastly pursues the path of nationalindependence and Socialism, striving to become a prosperous, strong, democraticnation with equitable, civilised society.

Vietnam consistently implements the foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, for peace, friendship, cooperation and development,multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, PM Chinh said,adding that Vietnam seeks to be a good friend, a reliable partner and an activeand responsible member of the international community.

Vietnam and the US have put aside past, and have been working together toadvance ties across all areas, on the basis of respecting each other’spolitical institutions, territorial integrity and sovereignty, he noted.

One of the pillars in the bilateral relationship is economy, trade, andinvestment. In 2021, Vietnam-US trade reached 112 billion USD, accounting for nearlyone third of the total US-ASEAN trade at 362 billion USD, and enjoying anannual growth of 17-20 percent.

Informing the American friends of the currentsituation in Vietnam, which has successfully controlled COVID-19 and isengaging in robust socio-economic recovery, the Vietnamese Government sent hisregards to the American people’s support for Vietnam during war and normalisationof ties, and asking them to continue to advocate and contribute to bilateralcooperation for the sake of peace, cooperation and development of the twocountries./.