Meeting and signing of the handover and acceptance minutes for the remains of fallen soldiers in the second phase.

(Baonghean.vn) -On the morning of April 23rd, in Phonsavan town, Xieng Khouang province, Lao People's Democratic Republic, a meeting and signing ceremony took place to exchange and receive the remains of fallen soldiers for the second phase of 2013-2014 between the Special Working Committee of the three provinces of Xieng Khouang and Vientiane - Laos and Nghe An province - Vietnam.

Attending the talks, on the provincial side were Comrade Le Xuan Dai – Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Special Task Force; Major General Nguyen Sy Hoi –CommissionerThe Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Commander of the Provincial Military Command, and leaders of several provincial departments and agencies.

During the meeting, the Special Working Group of the three provinces assessed the advantages and difficulties in the work of collecting and searching for the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts during the second phase of the 2013-2014 dry season. Following the first phase of receiving and burying the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts, Xieng Khouang and Vientiane provinces directed their armed forces and local people to closely coordinate with the units responsible for collecting the remains of martyrs in Nghe An province to carry out the search, excavation, and collection of martyrs' remains. Overcoming difficulties in weather conditions and rugged mountainous terrain, the search, excavation, and collection of martyrs' remains during the 2013-2014 dry season achieved their targets. In this second phase, the teams searched for, excavated, and collected 31 sets of martyrs' remains.

On behalf of the officials, people, and armed forces of Nghe An province, Mr. Le Xuan Dai – Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and Head of the Provincial Special Task Force – sincerely thanked the officials and people of the three provinces of Xieng Khouang, Vientiane, and Xaysomboun in Laos for their attention and assistance in the search, excavation, and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Laos. Thanks to this special attention, 88 sets of remains were recovered during two excavation campaigns in the 2013 and 2014 dry seasons. This represents a great effort by the provinces, as well as the forces involved in searching for and excavating the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in Laos. Following the talks, representatives of the Special Task Force of the provinces signed the Minutes of Handover and Receipt of the remains of fallen soldiers for the second phase of the 2013-2014 dry season. This afternoon, April 23rd, in Phonsavan town, Xieng Khouang province, Lao People's Democratic Republic, a memorial service was held for the souls of 31 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who fought and sacrificed for the noble international cause in Laos, and whose remains were searched for, exhumed, and collected this time.

Tran Minh