Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee visits and works with the Party Committee of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

Mr. Nguyen Van The, Member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee, and the working delegation at the meeting with VAST

The delegation from the Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee included Mr. Lai Xuan Lam, Permanent Deputy Secretary; Mr. Do Viet Ha, Deputy Secretary; and other members of the Standing Committee, Party Committee, and leaders from various departments within the Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee.

From the VAST Party Committee, the meeting was attended by members of the Standing Committee, leaders of VAST, and representatives from affiliated departments and units.

The session began with Dr. Tran Trung Thanh, Deputy Director in charge of the DNA Identification Center, presenting an overview of the center's work on analyzing the remains of martyrs. The DNA Identification Center, part of the Institute of Biotechnology, is one of three leading DNA identification units in Vietnam involved in Project 150 (now Project 515), which focuses on searching for, gathering, and identifying remains of martyrs with incomplete information. Equipped with modern facilities, the center has developed and applied new techniques and methods to optimize the mitochondrial DNA identification process, contributing to the improvement in the quantity and quality of identification results. Since 2019, the center has conducted thousands of sample analyses, delivering results to the Department of People with Meritorious Services under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

In his address, Mr. Nguyen Van The expressed his deep interest in visiting the DNA Center. He emphasized that the center's mission is of great significance, carrying a high humanitarian value by honoring the sacrifice of martyrs who gave their lives for the country's liberation. He praised the center's dedication and achievements and recommended that VAST advise the government to provide more modern equipment, train high-tech personnel, and improve facilities to expedite the identification process of martyrs' remains. With over 800,000 martyrs' graves nationwide, of which 300,000 remain unidentified, he underscored the urgency of this noble and sacred responsibility. Besides, the issue of gene identification technology with the rapid development and change of current technology also needs special attention.

Professor Chu Hoang Ha, Member of the Standing Committee of the VAST Party Committee and Vice President of VAST, expressed gratitude to the Secretary and the Standing Committee of the Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee for their visit and guidance, which will support the development of the DNA Center’s activities. He also reported on related activities and the challenges encountered in collecting and identifying the DNA of martyrs.

In March, an ODA project aimed at enhancing the capacity of DNA identification of martyrs’ remains was approved, marking significant progress with the hope of increasing the effectiveness of identification efforts. The VAST President approved a project to "Enhance the capacity for identifying remains through international cooperation, technology transfer, and procurement of equipment and consumables," which operationalizes the contents of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Director of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons and USAID. The project involves scientists from the International Commission on Missing Persons and the Institute of Biotechnology working together to optimize nuclear DNA extraction technology, next-generation sequencing, SNP marker analysis, and database construction, aiming to establish a comprehensive technological process for large-scale identification of wartime missing persons. Initial results indicate that with current scientific and technological capabilities, the Institute of Biotechnology’s scientists can master next-generation sequencing technology to enhance the capacity and efficiency of DNA identification of martyrs’ remains.

Professor Ha also mentioned that the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security, proposed and received approval from the Prime Minister to create a DNA bank of martyrs' relatives, as part of the program to supplement biometric information on chip-based citizen ID cards. This DNA bank will serve as a reference for matching DNA samples from remains with those of relatives. With support from the government and various national agencies, he expressed hope that more significant results would be achieved in identifying martyrs' remains in the near future.

The delegation from the Central Agencies Bloc Party Committee concluded the visit by touring the DNA Identification Center’s facilities and visiting the automotive workshop of the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH).

Photos at the working meeting:

Commemorative group photo

Visit to the DNA Center

Visit to the USTH automotive workshop

Translated by Phuong Huyen
Link to Vietnamese version