Socialist Republic of Vietnam

(VNA) The Vietnam-US Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/dioxin made a field trip to the heavily AO-contaminated province of Dong Nai province on August 17 as part of a survey for a project to build centres on reproductive health and rehabilitation.

The group was seeking funding for the construction of a reproductive health consultancy centre and a rehabilitation centre for AO/dioxin victims in Dong Nai province’s Dinh Quan district, said Dr Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, a group member.

Washington. DC, July 19, 2011

(VNA) The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) General Secretary has recognised a slight shift in the US attitude towards solving the AO/Dioxin dilemma in Vietnam.

Tran Xuan Thu, who is also VAVA Vice President, revealed the recognition at an exclusive interview with VNA on the threshold of the third hearing on the problem to be held by the US House of Representatives on July 15.

(VNA) The US Time magazine on Dec. 16 ran a feature reflecting the fact that the levels of cancer-causing dioxins in Danang airport area are still 300-400 times higher than what is deemed to be safe, yet the US is using aid on meetings rather than practical deeds like cleanup of the toxic.

(VNA) Vietnam and the US have reached consensus on directions to address the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin in the Southeast Asian country, including the establishment of a health task force.

The two nations came to the decision during the fourth annual meeting of the Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Council (JAC) on AO which ended in Hanoi on Sept. 10 after three days of talks.

(VNA) The country attracted 10.1 billion USD in foreign direct investment in the first seven months of the year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Of the sum, 53 percent was registered capital for 385 newly-licensed projects and 46 percent was additional capital for 125 existing projects. In the period, the materialised capital was worth 4.6 billion USD.
FIA said that in general FDI projects are on course to meet the goal of attracting 20 billion USD in FDI capital and disbursing 8 billion USD in 2009.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Ngo Quang Xuan has emphasised the necessity to put the issue of Agent Orange/Dioxin into the comprehensive US-Vietnam relations and develop a long-term cooperation policy on the issue.
Ambassador Xuan, who is also Co-Chair of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on AO/Dioxin, made the statement at the second hearing on AO/dioxin in Washington , the US , on June 2.

VNA - The US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin achieved “very good” results at its fourth meeting in Washington on June 2, said a senior Vietnamese official.
Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan, Vice Chair of the National Assembly’s External Affairs Committee, stated this after their talks had closed, evaluating that the meeting was extremely significant in the context the two countries were strengthening ties.

On March 2, 2009, the US Supreme Court rejected the appeal by Vietnamese Agent Orange/Dioxin victims against American chemical companies over the use of the Agent Orange/Dioxin during the Vietnam war. In response, Mr. Le Dung, the Spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on March 3, 2009: