Engineering team No.1 before departure (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Hoang Xuan Chienhas hailed the army and public security forces for sending new units to theUnited Nations peacekeeping mission for the first time this year, including an engineering unit.
Chairing a conference of the Defence Ministry’s inter-sectoral working group and steering committee on Vietnam’s participation in the UN peacekeeping operations in Hanoi on December 27, Chien said theirparticipation in the effort has received attention from leaders of the Party,State, agencies, people from walks of life, proving that it has yieldedpositive results.
Their contributionshave also been welcomed by leaders of the United Nations and internationalcommunity, especially heads of special missions, Chien said, adding that theyare pride-worthy milestones that should continue in the coming time.
The officer asked centrally-run departmentsand agencies to fine-tune the legal system in the regard, make thorough preparationsfor Level-2 Field Hospital No.5 and Engineering Unit No.2, and set up Level-2 Field Hospital No.6 and Engineering Unit No.3 for training and rotationaldeployment.
The army’s units,particularly the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VDPO), the HighCommand of Engineers and Military Hospital 175 must prepare resources andprocure equipment for training, as well as deal with the shortage of medicinesand medical equipment.
Chien suggestedsending technicians to missions to repair equipment each year.
VDPO Director Maj.Gen Hoang Kim Phung said so far, the ministry has sent 520 professionalofficers and soldiers to four UN peacekeeping missions at four missions, includingthe European Union Training Mission in Central African Republic and the UN headquarters.Each year, 25 independent military officers and 247 officers and staff of theengineering unit and Level-2 Field Hospital are maintained.
This year, Vietnam assumedthe role of the Chair of the Association of Asia-Pacific Peace Operations Training Centres (AAPTC) forthe first time. The Defence Ministry held conferences with the Asia-Pacificpeace operations training centres in Hanoi, drawing the participation of 18countries and eight international organisations.
For the first time, Vietnam has successfully deployed Engineering Team No.1with a large number of officers and huge volume of equipment to the UnitedNations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and two officersto the European Union Training Mission in Central African Republic./.
