(VOVworld) – The Pacific Partnership Program 2016 left Da Nang city after 2 weeks of drills in natural disaster adaptation, sharing their expertise and cooperative activities in health care, repair, construction and community events.

Pacific Partnership Program participants welcomed in Da Nang (Photo: VNA)

This year’s program involved representatives from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UK, the US, Vietnam and other countries. This was the seventh event held in Vietnam in 11 years and marked the first time a Vietnamese ship, the Khanh Hoa, hosted dental and surgical cooperation activities with other members of the Pacific Partnership Program. Operating from July 15 to July 28, the program included workshops and drills on disaster preparedness, national and regional response, coastal medicine and maritime search and rescue and a visit by the US hospital ship USNS Mercy.  

The annual Pacific Partnership, initiated by the US government, aims to improve collaboration between the region’s military forces and charitable organizations during disaster relief operations, while providing humanitarian and medical assistance to regional countries.