"Vietnam's participation in the UN peacekeeping activities have been a bright spot in multilateral foreign relations"

On April 27, Vietnamese peacekeeping forces, including Military Engineering Unit No.1 and the Level-2 Field Hospital No.4, held a departure ceremony at Noi Bai International Airport ahead of their work at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mission.

The President went to the airport to see off the delegation.

The President also extended his gratitude to the UN, partner countries and organisations that have contributed to the country, and hoped that Vietnam will continue to receive support during peacekeeping missions. Addressing the ceremony, President Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council and Commander of the People's Armed Forces, said Vietnam's participation in the UN peacekeeping activities over the past eight years have been a bright spot in multilateral foreign relations of the Party, State and Vietnam People's Army.

President Phuc expressed his belief that Vietnam's first engineering team participating in UN peacekeeping activities will promote their bravery, intelligence and capacity to perform well their humanitarian assistance missions and build infrastructure to serve indigenous people, meeting the requirements of the United Nations.

"True envoy of peace, symbol of humanism and international solidarity"

Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang said at the ceremony: “During the missions, officers and soldiers will always maintain their solidarity, unity, determination to overcome challenges, and strive to fulfill the tasks assigned”. He added: “They will be the true envoy of peace, the symbol of humanism, international solidarity, the embodiment of the noble qualities in a ‘soldier of Uncle Ho’ in the new era, the multinational, multicultural environment of the UN”.

The President encouraged cadres and soldiers before going on international missions.

It is reported that since 2014 Vietnam has sent a total of 76 officers to perform UN missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and UNISFA alongside 189 medical officers and staff from the level-2 field hospital as part of the mission.

This time, the participating force consists of the 184-member Military Engineering Unit. This is the first time Vietnam has deployed an engineering unit to a UN peacekeeping mission, and it is also the Vietnamese unit with the largest number of personnel joining UN peacekeeping operations so far, according to VNA.

The destination for officers and soldiers will be the UNISFA mission in Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan. They will help provide humanitarian assistance, supporting the UN delegations in keeping and re-establishing peace in the area. They will also ensure transport, perform road maintenance, help reconstruct the UN base, and provide support for the local community by building community houses, schools, and other public facilities.

President praises peacekeeping mission as bright spot of Vietnam's multilateral foreign policy.

Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said taking part in UN peacekeeping operations is a major policy of the Politburo and the Party Central Committee so as to promote the country’s integration into the world at a higher level. It is an honour of the Vietnam People’s Army to be the first force to send personnel to this international mission. Over the last eight years, its officers have proved themselves completely capable of fulfilling tasks at the request of the UN, and they have received very high evaluations from UN leaders.

He noted they have also been highly valued and admired by international friends as well as people in the host countries thanks to their successful implementation of many activities, especially the mass mobilization activities that had never been carried out in the missions in the past.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc sees off the soliders.

Phung shared that earlier, a UN delegation had come to Vietnam to survey and decided to choose the country's engineering unit out of 15 candidates as they realised the capacity of Vietnamese engineers. Deploying a big unit like this 184-strong engineering one is a big challenge since it is completely different from the previous times when Vietnam sent individuals or small units like Level-2 field hospitals to peacekeeping operations.

The official said he believes with thorough preparations in multiple aspects, the engineering unit of Vietnam will successfully perform the duties assigned by the Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defence while meeting the UN’s expectations.

Vietnamese peacekeeping forces, including the Military Engineering Unit No.1 and the Level-2 Field Hospital No.4.

Despite the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the field hospital's staff have completed the medical, military and language training program in preparation for the deployment.

During their mission in South Sudan, the Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 4 will focus on applying technology in medical examination and treatment, which will be the premise for them to conduct scientific research. The hospital will also continue working on public communications and disease prevention in the harsh environment of the area.

Despite the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the field hospital's staff have completed the medical, military and language training program in preparation for the deployment.

Taking into account the latest deployment, Vietnam’s military has sent a total of 76 officers on individual duties, and 436 soldiers in groups on UN peacekeeping missions.

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