US, Vietnam overcoming war legacy to better ties

HANOI - The United States and Vietnam's joint efforts to overcome legacy of war played a special role in building better relationship between the two countries, said David Shear, US Ambassador to Vietnam on Monday.

The United States and Vietnam on Monday in Hanoi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation on overcoming consequences of explosive remnants of the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Shear said the signing is an important step in realizing the shared views of the two countries' leaders during the visit of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to the US in July, 2013.

Vietnamese deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Bui Hong Linh praised the signing of the document, saying this is the first MoU signed between the two sides regarding cooperation on overcoming consequences of explosive remnants of war in Vietnam.

The signing of the MoU will further strengthen relationship between the two countries, said the Vietnamese official.

According to handouts released by Vietnam's State Steering Committee for the National Action Program on overcoming the aftermath of bombs and mines left by the war (Committee 504), there are nearly 9,300 out of the total 10,511 resident communes in Vietnam contaminated by explosive remnants.

As of the year 2000, more than 100,000 people died and injured by explosive remnants of war in Vietnam, with an average of 4,000 people a year, according to the committee's statistics. To date, only 20 percent of the explosive remnants were defused.

Since 1993, the Unite States has provided some $65 million for Vietnam to deal with consequences of explosive remnants of war, said the US Ambassador at the MoU signing ceremony.