HANOI, Vietnam -- Ambassador Osius visited Khanh Hoa province from May 23 to 24 to highlight Pacific Partnership 17’s (PP17) collaboration with the province. During the two-day visit, Ambassador Osius met with Khanh Hoa People’s Committee Chairman Le Duc Vinh, visited PP17 personnel from the United States, Vietnam, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia at Cam Ranh International Port, and toured community and medical facilities working with PP17.

In his meeting with the Chairman of Khanh Hoa Province People’s Committee Le Duc Vinh, Ambassador Osius thanked the province for its support and warm welcome for PP17, discussed opportunities for further economic and educational collaboration, addressed issues of civil society, and congratulated the province on its rise in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2016 ranking. During a separate signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding between Khanh Hoa Province and Microsoft Vietnam to develop Nha Trang as a “smart city,” Ambassador Osius highlighted that the application of “smart city” technology will help improve Nha Trang’s business environment, provide a boost to the tourism industry, improve public safety, and enhance urban planning.

While visiting Hoa Mi Kindergarten, Ambassador Osius and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Donald Gabrielson met with fifteen U.S. Navy and Marine Corps engineers working over nine days to replace roofs on two buildings in addition to repairing or replacing ceiling fans and light fixtures in all the classrooms and repainting the exterior buildings. Also, Ambassador Osius and visited the Khanh Hoa Social Protection Center where PP17 installed six new solar-powered water heaters to improve the quality of life at the facility.

“Pacific Partnership 17 shows the depth of our partnerships, particularly in capacity to coordinate regional humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Personnel from our countries are working together to train medical professionals and enhance medical care. Also, we’re improving the facilities at area schools, highlighting our shared focus on education as a driver for social and economic development,” Ambassador Osius noted during the trip.

In addition to community relations sites, Ambassador Osius also presented certificates to Vietnamese personnel completing a Tactical Combat Casualty Care course which will help Vietnam as it participates in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. At the VINASARCOM dive medicine exchange, Ambassador Osius visited with U.S. and Vietnamese subject-matter experts sharing best practices on underwater medicine. Ambassador Osius also met with Vietnamese doctors sharing traditional medicine techniques with U.S. Navy doctors visiting the Khanh Hoa Traditional Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital.

This is the eighth time in eleven years that PP17 has taken place in Vietnam. This year’s events in Khanh Hoa include personnel from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. Crew from the Vietnam People’s Navy hospital ship Khanh Hoa-01 and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyers J.S. Izumo and J.S. Sazanami also joined mission personnel for the Khanh Hoa mission stop.