Hanoi: Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has called for expanding international cooperation in the search for, collection and identification of remains of fallen soldiers.

At a meeting held in Hanoi on January 9 by the national steering committee for search, collection, repatriation, and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains (National Steering Committee 515), Deputy PM Ha, who is also head of the committee, asked ministries, agencies, committees, units and localities to continue thoroughly grasping the Party and State’s viewpoints, policies and guidelines on this crucial mission.

Relevant agencies should complete the data system concerning martyrs and their graves, optimise technology to improve the identification process of fallen soldiers. This includes establishing effective information channels to support war veterans and their families, he said.

He outlined the committee’s forthcoming focus on searching for graves in areas rich in information about martyrs and their graves, and continuing to ide
ntify unknown fallen soldiers buried in cemeteries, with a particular emphasis on improving the capacity of DNA testing facilities and gene database storage centres.

Looking ahead, the committee plans to enhance inspection over arising issues and offer timely commendation to organisations and individuals making exceptional contributions to this endeavour.

Last year saw the collection of 1,328 sets of martyrs’ remains, including 559 inside the country, 247 in Laos, and 522 in Cambodia. Notably, the identity of 9 out of 124 samples of remains was determined using DNA testing method, while 251 sets of remains were identified through forensic technique./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency