Workshop discusses cluster munitions remnants survey

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink speaks at the event.

The event was jointly organised by the Norwegian People’s Aid and the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre.

Cluster munitions remnants survey is one of the initiatives which have been applied in Quang Tri province in an effort to improve efficiency of unexploded ordnance (UXO) disarmament in vast contaminated areas.

Quang Tri is the hardest-hit province due to remaining UXOs, and more than 8,500 local people were killed or injured after the war ended. It is the most UXO-polluted province in Vietnam as the area of land contaminated with UXO amounts to 82 percent.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Hoang Nam said the province has implemented various projects on the prevention of incidents related to UXOs and land clearance, thereby contributing to the province’s socio-economic development. 

Quang Tri previously recorded about 70 bomb and landmine-related incidents each year. However, in 2018, the province for the first time recorded no incident and it is striving to be the first locality of Vietnam free from such incidents by 2025, he added.

For his part, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink noted that the collaboration between the US and Vietnam in handling post-war UXOs have reaped fruitful results, saving the lives of many people and clearing millions of sq.m of land for economic development. The US is committed to overcoming war consequences in Vietnam, he said. 

At the workshop, participants shared experience and discussed optimal measures and principles of cluster munitions remnants survey.