A ceremony was held in Hanoi on June 8 to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and the 35th anniversary of the joint operation to search for US servicemen who were reported missing in action (MIA) during the war in Vietnam.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc said over the past five decades, VNOSMP has been fulfilling its assigned political missions, contributing to healing the wounds of war as well as normalising and promoting Vietnam-US relations.

He expressed his belief that with the concerted efforts of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, and Public Security and the US partners, the support and coordination of relevant agencies, local authorities, people and veterans of both countries, the Vietnam-US MIA cooperation will continue to achieve positive outcomes and fulfill its humanitarian mission, helping to lift the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership to a new height.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc. E Knapper said the US supports a strong, prosperous, independent and self-reliant Vietnam.

The MIA cooperation, which was founded before the two nations normalised their bilateral relations, has created a firm foundation to promote the US-Vietnam relationship, he stressed.

Over the past 35 years, a total of 160 remains repatriation missions have been carried out, with the remains of 734 missing US servicemen after the war handed over to the US side. Among 1,973 cases of missing US servicemen, 1,239 still require search efforts.

At the event, delegates took a moment to pay respect to 16 Vietnamese officials and US specialists who sacrificed their lives while performing MIA duties on April 7, 2001./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency