Vietnam agrees to a U.S. plan to increase the latter’s number of teams tasked with searching for the remains of American servicemen who went missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said Tuesday.

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The deputy minister expressed the consent at a reception held in Hanoi for a visiting U.S. State Department delegation led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman. Vinh also confirmed to the delegation that Vietnam highly values its multifaceted cooperative relations with the U.S., including those in security and defense.

He affirmed that Vietnam is ready to advance the cooperation content approved previously by the two countries, and suggested that more exchanges be held in strategic defense consultations, bomb and mine clearance, and maritime security.

For her part, Sherman thanked the Vietnamese government and army for its close coordination and support in the MIA search activities. She agreed with Vinh’s proposals and expressed her hope that more exchanges and experience-sharing meetings will be held by the two countries’ navies in the future. The forces should work together in experimenting with different search and rescue methods and set up a hotline for reporting to each other maritime security issues, Sherman said.