Delegates at the launch of the Pacific Friendship programme 2025 in Quang Tri province on September 9 (Photo: VNA)
The Pacific Friendship programme 2025 opened in Dong Ha ward, central Quang Tri province, on September 9, marking one of the most prominent events celebrating the 30th anniversary of Viet Nam – US diplomatic relations.
Running from September 8 to 20, the programme features a wide range of activities such as disaster response training, drone application, communications drills, sharing of expertise in explosive ordnance disposal and veterinary medicine, along with training in casualty care and classification, stroke treatment, school dentistry, and military medicine. Medial station construction and repair, as well as English exchanges, are also among the activities.
Speaking at the ceremony, Standing Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri People’s Committee Hoang Nam stressed that the year 2025 holds special significance in Viet Nam– US relations as the two countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Quang Tri, once the fiercest battlefield and a symbol of division and sacrifice, now hosts the Pacific Friendship programme 2025.
He highlighted that more than an annual international cooperation activity, the event delivers a powerful message: from a painful past, both nations are working together to build peace; from shared challenges, they are joining hands to foster development. It also inspires trust and opens up new opportunities for deeper and more sustainable cooperation between the two countries, as well as between Quang Tri and international friends.
US Ambassador to Viet Nam Marc Evans Knapper underlined that the initiative reflects the growing strength of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.
He described Pacific Friendship as a continuation of the Pacific Partnership, which since 2007 has linked Viet Nam and the US through humanitarian and civil cooperation projects in multiple provinces.
First launched after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the programme has been organised annually by the US Indo-Pacific Command with the participation of regional governments, armed forces, and humanitarian organisations. From 2025, following a proposal by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has been renamed Pacific Friendship and is carried out by the US army./.
VNA
