At the reception, the NA Vice Chairman said she was pleased with the growing ties between Vietnam and the US as well as the effective cooperation between the two countries’ parliaments in sharing law-making experiences. 

She expressed her hope that in the coming time, the two sides would continue to increase their cooperation in addressing the war consequences and hold more dialogues on such issues as energy, environment and crime prevention. 

Phong highly valued the US Congress approval on a budget of US$3 million to clean up dioxin contaminated areas around Da Nang Airport .

However, she added, the two sides should continue talks to address the issue as long-term sustainable solutions will cost an estimated US$45 million, including spending on detoxification and afforestation in contaminated areas and treatment and care costs for AO victims. 

Senator Bond congratulated Vietnam on its assumption of the ASEAN Chair this year and said that besides the cooperation between the two countries, cooperation between the US and ASEAN is very important. 

On the same day, the US senator was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who hoped that the two countries would continue boosting their cooperation, especially in economics and education. 

Senator Bond said his visit is to study possibilities of cooperation between US and Vietnamese businesses, especially small- and medium sized enterprises.