Vietnam hopes for continued cooperation and support from other governments and international organizations to speed up the effort to clear unexploded bombs and mines. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung spoke at a donors’ conference in Hanoi on Friday [March 14] where he called for concrete contributions from the U.S. in this effort. The Vietnamese government has spent $100 million to remove unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and decontaminate the land, said Dung, adding that Vietnam needs $10 billion more to complete the work. 40 years after the war, Vietnam still learns about people killed or injured by UXOs every day. Since 1975, more than 42,000 people have been killed, 62,000 injured, and most of Vietnam’s provinces and cities are still contaminated with bombs and mines. Prime Minister Dung said: “I call on donors, ambassadors, and international friends to join efforts to help the Vietnamese government and its Steering Committee 504 in a national program to eliminate unexploded bombs and mines by mobilizing funds and setting up mechanisms to manage and use these funds effectively. We want more support from donors in this cause and believe we can achieve better results in the future.” At the meeting, the Vietnam National Center for Bomb and Mine Action made its debut. The function of the center is to organize, manage, and coordinate the missions of the program. The Center will act as the main liaison for international cooperation activities and will solicit additional funding for programs to clear bombs and mines. On March 13, at an exchange in Hanoi, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan called on people from all walks of life, organizations, and overseas Vietnamese to support Vietnam’s clearance efforts. He said: “When will Vietnamese people including children, stop being killed by bombs and mines? 300 years is too long. To shorten this time, we need more support from international friends. To this end, Vietnam has mobilized associations and funds to support bomb and mine clearance. I hope our international friends will understand the situation in Vietnam and help us.” (Vovworld.vn March 14)
