Peacekeepers help promote Vietnam’s image

Vietnamese peacekeepers departing for the UNISFA from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi

Vietnamese peacekeeping forces are developing strongly, contributing to affirming Vietnam’s role in the world arena and demonstrating Vietnam’s efforts and commitments to joining UN peacekeeping operations and building global peace and security.

Recently, Vietnam handed decisions to sent another three officers to UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), raising the total number of Vietnamese peacekeeper deployed to UN missions to nearly 800.

According to heads of the missions and UN agencies, Vietnamese peacekeepers have shown strong performance in implementing their assigned tasks with professionalism and discipline, leaving good impressions on mission leaders, friends, and international colleagues with specific, practical, and humane contributions.

Colonel Mac Duc Trong, Vice Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said in order to prepare replacement forces, the department has selected highly qualified officers and organised various training courses following the UN’s requirements, while sending officers abroad for training.

In particular, all the three officers to be deployed to the UN missions this time have participated in two major peacekeeping exercises in 2023 – the Competency Evaluation for Prospective Peacekeeper Programme (CEPPP) and the Vietnam - India Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX) 2023.

The officers are joining the mission in the context that the security situation in the areas still have many unpredictable security and safety risks, along with harsh weather and climate conditions, and many dangerous diseases, especially malaria, cholera, and Ebola.

At a ceremony in Hanoi on April 8 to hand over the President's and the Defence Minister’s decisions to send three officers to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Abyei (Photo: VNA)

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Sy Hieu, who will be sent to the MINUSCA to replace Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Phong, said that joining UN peacekeeping is an important task in a multinational environment with many differences in culture and language, requiring comprehensive knowledge in military, politics, profession, foreign affairs, and culture. Therefore, all the three officers have been well prepared in all fields, including high determination in fulfilling their tasks.

According to Hieu, the prerequisite ensuring the completion of the assigned tasks is to strictly comply with discipline and security and safety regulations of the UN as well as the laws and cultural identity of the host country, and not to affect the prestige and image of the military and the country of Vietnam.

He said that he and his fellow officers in the mission will strengthen communications and actively engage in humanitarian activities, thus promoting the image of the friendly, humane, and peace-loving nation and people of Vietnam as well as the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho's soldiers” to international friends./.