WELLINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The New Zealand government issued Tuesday a formal apology to Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals.

    The apology is part of the government's response to a report of the Health Select Committee Inquiry into the exposure of New Zealand defense personnel to Agent Orange and other defoliant chemicals during the Vietnam War and any health effects of that exposure.

    The committee recommended an official acknowledgment be made that successive governments have failed to recognize veterans were exposed to a toxic environment during their service in Vietnam.

    The government has gone one step further and formally apologized for the historic failure to recognize veterans exposed to a toxic environment. It said Vietnam veterans had waited a longtime to have their experiences heard.

    Welcoming the report, Veterans Affairs Minister George Hawkins said Tuesday that the New Zealand government recognizes the importance of understanding these experiences.

    "In light of the information made available resulting from the detailed research undertaken by the NZ Defense Force the government offers a formal apology to Vietnam veterans for the failure of governments in the past to recognize that the veterans were exposed to a toxic environment during their service in Vietnam," he said.

    Hawkins said war pensions and health services are already available to veterans and their children who have suffered as a result of the exposure. Enditem