HCM City (VNA) – The Defence Ministry held aceremony on October 1 at the Tan Son Nhat international airport to see off thefirst group of the nation’s level-2 field hospital to carry out peacekeepingmission in South Sudan.

At the ceremony, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen.Nguyen Chi Vinh, head of the steering committee of Vietnam's UN peacekeepingoperations, said Vietnam’s participation in the United Nations peacekeepingoperations is a breakthrough step in implementing the country’s externalrelations policy. It marks qualitative and quantitative changes of Vietnam’smultilateral cooperation in general and of defence-security collaboration inparticular.


He noted that the country has also sent military officialsto conflict-plagued countries to take part in policy discussion and planningregarding peace and international security, the promotion of principles ofinternational law and the UN Charter, the struggle against arms race, and thesettlement of disputes by peaceful measures.

Vinh affirmed that the People’s Army of Vietnam, which hasits origin in the people and fight for the people over the past more than 70years, has not only protected the country, but also made contributions to itsexternal relations policy, particularly with its engagements in thepeacekeeping mission.

He requested the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department work withrelevant agencies to keep close monitoring of the operations of the level-2field hospital in South Sudan. He asked the force to strengthen theirsolidarity to overcome difficulties and effectively carry out its missionoverseas.

In his online speech delivered from the UN headquarters, Under-Secretary-Generalfor Field Support Atul Khare congratulated Vietnam and praised the nation’sefforts to directly involve in the UN peacekeeping mission.

He said the deployment of the level-2 field hospitalreflects Vietnam’s goodwill and responsibility toward the mission as well asits capacity to join the work bringing peace and stability to people indifficult areas.

Reporting the preparation of the level-2 field hospital, ColonelHoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, said the teamhas trained hard for almost five years to meet the UN’s standards and beselected to replace their peers from the UK in Bentiu, South Sudan.

The personnel are ready for their mission, he stated.

At the ceremony, Vinh handed over to the executive board ofthe field hospital the military flag and the President’s decision on thedeployment of the group to the African country.

After the event, 30 members of the force departed for SouthSudan and the remaining 33 members will leave two weeks later.

On November 25, 2014, the Defence Ministryissued a decision to establish the level-2 field hospital with a 70-strongstaff, a step to realise the Party and State’s policy on joining the UnitedNations’ peacekeeping activities in the field of humanitarian activities. Sincethen, the hospital’s staff have engaged in intensive training in accordancewith the UN’s standards.-VNA