Pacific partnership 2019 continues with welcoming ceremony in Tuy Hoa

• United States engages industry leaders on U.S.-Vietnam LNG cooperation
• US, Vietnam to focus on digital trade, industrial goods

U.S. and Vietnamese military members and non-governmental organization volunteers are scheduled to take part in a variety of events, including first-aid and preventive medicine expert exchanges, various healthcare symposiums, engineering projects, disaster response seminars, and a variety of community outreach engagements, with the goal of improving humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Through Pacific Partnership and other efforts, the United States aims to support Vietnam’s goals and objectives while building interoperability with our regional partners and allies to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Consul General Mary Tarnowka.  “As an Indo-Pacific country, the United States envisions a regional order where all nations – large and small – are strong, independent, and free from coercion.”

Pacific Partnership began in response to one of the world’s most catastrophic natural disasters, the December 2004 tsunami, that devastated parts of South and Southeast Asia.  The mission has evolved over the years from emphasis on direct care to enhancing partnerships through host nation subject matter expert and civil-military exchanges.

Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific region, and is a joint effort between the host nation and partner nations that include Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom to strengthen disaster response preparedness around the Indo-Pacific region.

Vietnam is one of several host nations for Pacific Partnership 2019.  Mission teams also stopped in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, and will conclude in Thailand.  Experts in the fields of engineering, medicine, and disaster response will partner with each host nation to conduct civic-action projects, community health exchanges, medical symposiums, and disaster response exercises.