Commander of the US Army-Pacific (USARPAC), lieutenant general James L. Campbell, visited Hanoi on May 11, according to a press release by the US Embassy here Wednesday.

The purpose of the commander's one-day visit was to meet with leaders of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and to build on the military-to-military relationship between the United States and Vietnam, said the press release.

Campbell commented on his desire to keep on beefing up the bilateral relationship in areas of mutual interest and importance.He also expressed a desire to boost the Army's cooperation plan with emphasis on countering terrorism at a pace agreeable to both the United States and Vietnam, it said.

He emphasized the strengths and benefits of recent military medical and engineering events in which the two countries have participated, it noted.

"We cannot lose sight, with all that is going on in the world, of the importance of the Asia-Pacific region," Campbell noted in the release.

This was his first visit to Vietnam since the 1996-1997 period,when he frequently visited the country as the Commander of Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (now Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command),the release added.

Source: Xinhua