Hanoi (VNA) – The Central MilitaryCommission and the Ministry of National Defence have viewed personnel trainingfor UN peacekeeping operations as a necessary preparation, a high-ranking militaryofficer has affirmed.  

Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the VietnamDepartment of Peacekeeping Operations, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) thatover the past eight years, his department and the defence ministry as well havepaid due attention to the training work and the UN side has been satisfied withVietnam’s performance in this regard.

The training focuses on survival and engineering skills,military medical issues and combat capacity, he said, adding that officers havebeen equipped with knowledge about defence diplomacy, culture, land and people.

Vietnamese officers have contributed to promoting thenew image of UN peacekeeping forces, he continued.

According to the Major General, the department hasdispatched many experienced officers to lecture at peacekeeping trainingcentres in foreign countries and it will step up training courses, targeting atraining centre of the regional and international levels.  

Mentioning Vietnam’s Engineering Unit Rotation 1 atthe UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), Phung said the unit has satisfiedrequirements of the UN and won the trust of the UN peacekeeping mission’s leaders.

They have created a new image of soldiers of theVietnam People’s Army to international friends, he affirmed.

Since Vietnam sent the first officers to UNpeacekeeping operations eight years ago, the country has reaped significance achievements,Phung said, noting that the officers have worked as ambassadors of peace-lovingVietnam.

The defence ministry on August 25 organised aconference reviewing Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Phung reported at the conference that from June 2014to August 2022, the army has deployed 512 officers and soldiers to UNpeacekeeping missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and theAbyei Area, along with the UN headquarters.

They have shown their professionalism, discipline andinternational solidarity, and especially have been quick to adapt to harshworking conditions at the missions, he noted.

In terms of individual deployments, from two officersserving as liaison officers at the South Sudan mission in 2014, 76 have beensent to work independently in different positions so far.

Regarding group deployments, Vietnam has deployed fourlevel-2 field hospitals to South Sudan, all of which have excellently fulfilledtheir tasks. It also sent the first engineering unit, which comprises 184officers and soldiers and nearly 2,000 tonnes of equipment, to the UN InterimSecurity Force for Abyei in May this year, according to Phung.

To implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women,peace and security, the country has sent 74 female officers to peacekeepingoperations over the last eight years, he went on, adding the UN recognised theVietnamese department as one of the four international training centres in theregion to hold training under the Vietnam - UN - Japan trilateral partnershipprogramme in June 2018.

The Defence Ministry has also coordinated with theMinistry of Public Security to provide peacekeeping training for nearly 30police officers, four of whom have been chosen, with one working at the UNheadquarters and three at the South Sudan mission, Phung said said./.