United States Congressional delegation visited and worked with DNA Testing Center
The purpose of the visit was for U.S. and Vietnamese agencies involved in the Technical Assistance Project funded by foreign non-governmental aid: "Enhancing the capacity of war remains to be identified through cooperation in development, technology transfer and equipment acquisition, chemicals and consumables" had the opportunity to discuss the current progress; Vietnam's expectations for U.S. support and future plans.
Prof. Dr. Chu Hoang Ha highly appreciated the results achieved between Vietnam and the United States in cooperation in finding and identifying the remains of Vietnamese soldiers. Prof. Dr. Chu Hoang Ha said that on July 8, 2020, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vietnam Missing Persons Search Office (VNOSMP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide technical assistance in identifying remains; On October 18, 2022, the Prime Minister of Vietnam agreed to assign VAST to cooperate with US partners to develop DNA laboratories to improve identification capacity. To formalize this collaboration, on October 31, 2022, the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) under VAST and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) signed an Implementation Plan to promote the identification of war remains, appointing the Center for DNA Testing as the main implementing unit. After obtaining consensus from relevant ministries and branches, in early 2024, the Technical Assistance Project using foreign non-governmental aid funds: "Improving the capacity of war remains assessment through cooperation in development, technology transfer and equipment receipt, chemicals, consumables" has been officially approved by VAST for implementation.
Vietnamese government has paid special attention to identifying the remains of martyrs. On January 14, 2013, the Prime Minister issued Decision 150/QD-TTg, approving the National Scheme (Project 150) focusing on identifying the names of provinces with missing martyrs' remains. On September 14, 2021, the Government issued Decision 1515/QD-TTg, clearly stating the Master Plan on searching, collecting and identifying martyrs' remains. This decision sets a specific goal: By 2030, about 20,000 remains will be identified by DNA identification. The results achieved so far are very positive, however, there are still many technical challenges, technical and financial support is needed to achieve success.
At the meeting, Prof. Dr. Chu Hoang Ha thanked the agencies of the National Assembly and the US Government, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), USAID, ICMP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and VNOSMP and relevant ministries and agencies for supporting VAST to implement the project well during the past time. At the same time, he expressed his desire to continue to receive support and close coordination from partners, thereby improving capacity in terms of human resources, equipment and infrastructure, contributing to the successful completion of the project's goals.
Translated by Phuong Ha
Link to Vietnamese version
