Hanoi, November 4, 2026 – The Europe Today: Viet Nam and the United States have discussed measures to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, with particular emphasis on addressing the consequences of war, defence industry, military training and regional security.
The discussions took place during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence General Phan Văn Giang and US Ambassador to Viet Nam Jennifer Wicks McNamara in Hà Nội on Thursday.
General Giang congratulated the ambassador on her tenure in Viet Nam and expressed confidence that she would make positive contributions to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Describing defence cooperation as an important pillar of Viet Nam-US relations, the minister noted that bilateral collaboration had made significant progress in several areas, including high-level exchanges, defence policy dialogue, war legacy remediation, training, United Nations peacekeeping operations, military medicine, cybersecurity, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and defence industry.
He reaffirmed that Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defence would continue to prioritise cooperation in addressing the consequences of war, building on the effective implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides in October 2025.
General Giang welcomed the signing of two cooperation documents under the Life-Saving Partnership Agreement (LSPA) framework on September 23, 2026. The documents cover a dioxin remediation project at Biên Hòa Airbase and an initiative to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in areas heavily affected by Agent Orange.
Regarding efforts to search for US personnel missing in action during the war, he reaffirmed that Viet Nam would continue facilitating US search operations.
At the same time, he called on the US side to share more information, documents and personal artefacts relating to Vietnamese soldiers who lost their lives during the conflict, supporting efforts to locate, recover and identify their remains.
The minister also praised Ambassador Wicks for her recent participation in a scientific workshop organised by the Ministry of National Defence on strengthening DNA identification capabilities for the remains of fallen Vietnamese soldiers.
General Giang further announced that Viet Nam would host its third International Defence Expo in Hà Nội in December 2026, expressing hope that senior officials from the US Department of War and American defence companies would participate.
He encouraged US companies to showcase modern defence equipment at the exhibition, noting that their participation would contribute to the event’s success and promote defence industry cooperation.
The minister expressed confidence that, with the ambassador’s support, bilateral defence relations would continue to develop in line with the broader Viet Nam-US relationship, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and beyond.
For her part, Ambassador Wicks thanked the minister for receiving the delegation and expressed satisfaction with the close cooperation between the US diplomatic mission and Viet Nam’s Ministry of National Defence.
She reaffirmed her commitment to advancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest, particularly defence and security, defence industry and war legacy remediation, in accordance with the Viet Nam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The ambassador appreciated Viet Nam’s efforts to address the consequences of war and facilitate searches for US personnel missing in action. She also reaffirmed US support for Viet Nam’s 500-day campaign to accelerate the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains.
Ambassador Wicks briefed the minister on the participation of US companies in the 2026 International Defence Expo in Hà Nội and expressed hope that the two countries would further expand exchanges and make their defence cooperation more practical and effective.
