Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and officials visit a photo exhibition on UXO settlement (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam
will push ahead with the settlement of wartime unexploded ordnance (UXO) consequences
and also expects continued assistance from international partners in this work,
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told a conference in Hanoi on February 17.
The meeting reviewed the
national mine action programme, also called Programme 504, during 2010 - 2020
and set up orientations for 2021 - 2025.
Prior to the programme, 6.1
million ha of land in Vietnam was contaminated with UXO, 18.82
percent of the country’s total.
During 2010 - 2020, UXO
detection and clearance were carried out on 485,000ha at a total cost of over
12.61 trillion VND (553.3 million USD), including more than 10.4 trillion VND
from the domestic budget and nearly 2.2 trillion VND in foreign non-refundable
aid. As a result, the UXO-contaminated land has been shrunk to 5.6 million ha,
equivalent to 17.71 percent of the country’s area, according to the national steering
committee for settling post-war UXO and toxic chemicals.
It noted the non-refundable
official development assistance (ODA) projects funded by the governments of other
countries, including the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and Norway,
and international organisations like MAG, NPA, Golden West, SODI, and Peace
Tree, have also generated practical benefits for people and substantially contributed
to social development in Vietnam.
PM Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference in Hanoi on February 17 (Photo: VNA)
Addressing the event, PM Chinh
said the wartime UXO poses a daily threat to people and also a hindrence to
socio-economic development, citing preliminary statistics as showing that since
1975, the deadly legacy of wars have killed more than 40,000 people and injured
60,000 others.
Given this, Vietnam has made active
moves in settling war consequences, including UXO, over the past many years, he
said, noting that Programme 504 is important to socio-economic development as
well as the stabilisation of people’s life.
Over 5,000 UXO victims and
other affected people have received assistance in health care, vocational training,
and livelihoods. Besides, hundreds of thousands of people, especially those in the
areas heavily polluted with UXO, have accessed methods for preventing UXO
accidents. Notably, the number of UXO accidents has been reduced significantly,
with many localities already free of such incidents for many years.
Vietnam will push ahead with
mine action and remain a trustworthy partner, an active and responsible member
of the international community, PM Chinh stated, calling on other governments,
ambassadors, international organisations, and sponsors to continue their support
to help Vietnam get rid of UXO impacts.
He also appealed for joint
efforts to prevent wars and armed conflicts so that all peoples around the
world will no longer suffer./.