VOVNews, an online newspaper of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), had a meeting in Hanoi on December 20 with chairman of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) Bobby Muller and country representative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) Chuck Searcy.

Speaking on the occasion, VOV General Director Prof. Dr. Vu Van Hien appreciated the valuable support and efforts by US people, especially US politicians, who have helped Vietnam overcome the consequences caused by the war. He said he was very happy that the US Congress approved PNTR with Vietnam.

 

The VOV general director also praised the VVAF’s assistance and efforts to support, not only the approval of PNTR, but also its contributions to helping Vietnam overcome the consequences of the war.

 

“The war ended 30 years ago. It’s time we left the past behind to look to the future - the bright prospect for Vietnam-US relations,” Mr Hien added.

 

The US Congress has approved the bill on Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status with Vietnam. US President George W. Bush adopted the bill and visited Vietnam. This has helped boost Vietnam-US relations, he said.

 

For his part, Bobby Muller said, “This is the 25^th anniversary of our first visit to Vietnam in 1981. We consider this year’s visit our celebration and our party.”

The VVAF chairman noted that 25 years ago he was in Washington DC and worked with the Vietnamese Embassy. He and his colleagues have made great efforts to help the US understand more about Vietnam and approve PNTR legislation for Vietnam. The VVAF launched many campaigns in Vietnam to assist Vietnamese Agent Orange victims and clean up unexploded ordnance and landmines.

 

“One of the critical issues addressed 25 years ago is that how we could help Vietnamese people overcome bad consequences of the war. I am very pleased to say we are providing meaningful support for war victims. In all conversations and everywhere we go, we always raise concern about how to resolve problems relating to war consequences in Vietnam, particularly the chemical that US troop sprayed on Vietnam during the war. We talked about the issues and brought them to discussions of US congressmen in a bid to help them get proper understanding about the issues. Finally, we found successful and urgent issues have been resolved,” Mr Bobby said.

 

“Over the past 25 years, although US veterans who participated in the war in Vietnam have caused many sufferings for Vietnamese people, we are warmly and welcomed each time we visit Vietnam. This makes us feel moved. We never forget and try to heal the pain caused by the war,” Mr Bobby said.

Bobby Muller led a VVAF delegation to Vietnam from December 16-20 to mark the 25^th anniversary of its first trip to the country in 1981.