At the reception, General Secretary and President To Lam welcomed the visit of Acting Minister Hung Cao and the working delegation, on the occasion of participating in the Pacific Partnership - Pacific Friends Program 2026 (PP-PF26); highly appreciated the significance of organizing this humanitarian cooperation and disaster response and relief program in Quang Tri province.
Through Acting Minister Hung Cao, the General Secretary and President conveyed greetings to President Donald Trump and his wife, and reiterated the invitation to the President and his wife to visit Vietnam soon.
The General Secretary and President highly appreciated the positive developments in defense cooperation in the past time, and requested the two sides to continue to effectively implement the agreed mechanisms, programs and principles of cooperation; concretize cooperation in a number of fields suitable to the needs and interests of each side.
Acting Minister Hung Cao expressed his pleasure to revisit Vietnam, highly appreciating the positive developments of Vietnam-US relations in the past time.
Agreeing with the assessments of the General Secretary and President, Acting Minister Hung Cao said that defense cooperation, including maritime security cooperation, plays an important role for peace and prosperity of the two countries, as well as security, cooperation and development in the region. He expressed his desire to continue to expand cooperation in maritime security, capacity building, humanitarian assistance, disaster response and common challenges of the region.
Emphasizing the special significance of cooperation to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam-US relations, General Secretary and President To Lam requested the US to continue to maintain and expand dioxin detoxification projects, bomb and mine clearance, and support for people with disabilities.
On the occasion of July - the month of gratitude to wounded soldiers and martyrs, coming soon, the General Secretary and President requested the US to strengthen technology transfer, provide information and artifacts to help search for and identify the remains of Vietnamese martyrs. These are not only deeply humane cooperation activities but also proof of efforts to reconcile, mediate and build trust between the two countries.
Acting Minister Hung Cao expressed his agreement with the above assessment, and shared that he was born during the war, so more than anyone else understands the pain of war, believing that the achievements in cooperation to overcome the consequences of war are clear proof of the spirit of closing the past, towards the future between the two countries over the past decades, helping to heal and heal the wounds left by the war.
The Acting Minister of the Navy thanked the Government and people of Vietnam for supporting the US in the search for missing soldiers, and affirmed that the US will continue to maintain its long-term commitment to war recovery programs in Vietnam.
Expressing emotion when returning to visit Vietnam for the second time, Acting Minister Hung Cao shared his deep impression of Vietnam's increasing development and international position. In his current position and above all as a person with Vietnamese blood, Mr. Hung Cao affirmed that he will continue to support and contribute to efforts to make the Vietnamese community in the US attached and contribute to the peace, self-reliance and development of the country, as well as to Vietnam-US relations.
