Sen. Lieut. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army (Centre) presents the Fatherland Protection Order, third-class, to Vietnam National Mine Action Centre. (Source: VNA)

VNMAC General Director Maj. Gen. Tran Trung Hoa said that in 2010, the Vietnamese Government issued a National Action Programme to overcome the consequences of post-war ordnances in the 2010-2015 period (Programme 504). To manage, coordinate and implement the programme, on March 4, 2014, the Government established VNMAC, under the direction of the Prime Minister and the management of the Ministry of National Defence.

The centre has presided over and coordinated with relevant agencies to research, propose policies, identify goals, and develop plans to overcome consequences of the deadly legacy of the wars in the medium and long terms; mobilised funding at the national level; organised and coordinated the implementation of projects and tasks; supported victims; and stepped up dissemination in this field.

Praising the centre’s achievements in the past 10 years, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, proposed it well perform its tasks, with focus on promoting research, analysis, and forecasting of international and domestic situations related to the work to improve the quality of consultations and build plans to implement Programme 504; and coordinating with relevant agencies to build a plan to overcome the consequences for the 2026 - 2045 period, with orientations to 2050.

The VNMAC needs to complete the building of the content of the Ordinance on overcoming post-war bomb and mine consequences in Vietnam; effectively implement dissemination to raise public awareness of accident prevention; and work with international organisations to provide training on bomb and mine settlement and first aid in accordance with international standards, he added.