Cambodia hosts POW/MIA talks among four countries
PHNOM PENH, July 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The second consultations on Prisoner of War (POW)/Missing in Action (MIA) was held Thursday among senior representatives of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the United States in Siem Reap province, home of world famous Angkor Wat temples.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Affairs Jerry Jennings attended the meeting.
The two-day talks were held to examine broad policy issues which may assist in the overall mission of accounting for Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. The first such meeting was held last year in Bangkok, Thailand.
Addressing at the opening of "2004 Four-Party Dialogue on the Search for US Missing Citizens during the Vietnam War," Hun Sen said that "this event reflects our strong efforts in humanitarian activities and integration of our country into the international community."
In 1991, a US delegation came here for consultation in search for the remains of 81 Americans missing in Cambodia. The premier said that since then the bilateral mission between Cambodia and the United States has progressed step by step, achieving satisfactory results.
So far, 25 remains of the American citizens have been found in the past 13 years.
Hun Sen said that Vietnam have agreed in principles to grant American officials the rights to search for information about the remaining missing American citizens in the Vietnamese Documentation Center that seems as necessary. Another good news isthat senior Laotian officials have accepted the United States' proposal, helping search for the missing Americans in Laos as well.
©2003 Xinhua News Agency