PHU YEN, Vietnam -- The Vietnam phase of Pacific Partnership concluded its mission in Phu Yen on July 3. In Vietnam, the Pacific Partnership 2022 (PP22) team included representatives from Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. From 23 medical procedures performed aboard the USNS Mercy by U.S., Australian, Japanese, and Vietnamese doctors and nurses and 650 patients seen in total, to 10 band concerts with musicians from four nations reaching 6,700 people, to 115 subject-matter expert exchanges, PP22 successfully implemented a range of humanitarian activities and projects benefiting the local community in Phu Yen.
“Our partnership and friendship with Vietnam continues to thrive and grow with each Pacific Partnership mission and activity… this enhances our ability to work together, especially in times of need, most notably during a natural disaster or whenever we may be called upon to provide humanitarian assistance,” Rear Admiral Mark Melson, Commander Task Force 73 at the PP22 closing ceremony.
Thanks to the close coordination between relevant agencies, PP22 events further enhanced the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the United States as well as the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and all the participating countries.
“The Pacific Partnership mission takes the commitments of our leaders and turns them into concrete actions. Our efforts here focused on taking care of one another today, tomorrow, and in the future. The patients in the local hospital or aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy, the elementary students at three local schools, we have all seen and felt the impact of our growing ties through our 27-year bilateral relationship, epitomized through Pacific Partnership,” said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper.
At the ceremony, the Vice Chairman of Phu Yen People's Committee Dao My also thanked the PP22 team for developing a very effective and appropriate program for construction, health care, disaster prevention and community exchange, and for selecting Phu Yen as the first stop of this year's activity plan.
Now in its 17th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific.