(VOVworld) – The first meeting of the expert group on Humanitarian Mine Action within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) opened in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Delegates from 18 member countries and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat attended the event, which was co-chaired by Vietnam and India for the first time. Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said that although the American war had ended several years ago, its consequences lingered on. Vietnam is one of the countries in Southeast Asia most affected by unexploded ordnance. Vinh said that Vietnam supported international cooperation on humanitarian mine action both bilaterally and multilaterally: “Vietnam has lived for many years with the consequences of bomb and mine contamination, which are huge. We should work closely together to clear unexploded bombs and mines to ensure people’s safety.”