The Ministry of National Defence announced a decision on the establishment of the Office of the Standing Agency of the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Office 701) at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 8.

A dioxin-contaminated area at Bien Hoa airport

The ceremony saw the attendance of representatives from ministries, agencies and international organisations such as the US Agency for International Development, the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam. 

The office was set up following the Prime Minister’s Decision 701 dated May 24, 2017, on strengthening the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences. 

It is tasked with working with individuals and organisations at home and abroad to promote activities overcoming the consequences of bombs, mines and toxic chemicals left over from the war, thus ensuring the safety of people and environment in service of socio-economic development. 

Deputy Defence Minister, Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh, chief of the agency, thanked the US, Japanese, Korean governments and international organisations for closely partnering with Vietnam in implementing post-war bomb, mine and toxic chemical consequence recovery efforts. 

He asked the office to cooperate with ministries, agencies and localities to announce the completion of a project on dioxin remediation in Bien Hoa airport, launch similar projects, and especially stepping up the enforcement of policies targeting Agent Orange/Dioxin victims. 

The office needs to pool domestic and foreign resources for the effort, he said. 

Chief of the office, Colonel Tran Thanh Cong affirmed that staff of the office will seriously abide by the set working mechanism to contribute to quickening the post-war bomb, mine and toxic chemical consequence settlement work.-VNA