Border guard officers of Quang Binh province deliver flood relief to local residents (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc sent a letter to all officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) on October 22, encouraging them to remain steadfast.
The PM noted in the letter, sent after the death of 33 military personnel while tackling natural disasters in the central region, that under the leadership of the Party and the State, VPA officers and soldiers have always been united, proactive, and creative in facing difficulties and challenges.
They have also made various impressive achievements, including assisting people in socio-economic development and poverty reduction, addressing the consequences of natural disasters and epidemics, and conducting search and rescue efforts, the leader stressed.
In particular, he said, when immersed in the havoc wreaked by the recent floods in the central region, VPA officers and soldiers braved hardships and made their way to the most dangerous of places to conduct search and rescue missions.
Eleven officers and soldiers, along with two officials from Thua Thien-Hue province, lost their lives in a landslide on October 13 while on their way to reach the Rao Trang 3 hydro power plant to locate landslide victims.
On October 18, 22 others from Economic - Defence Army 337 under Military Region 4 died while tackling the aftermath in Huong Phung, a disadvantaged border commune in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province.
PM Phuc wrote that the Party, State, and people nationwide grieve for the sacrifice by the officers and soldiers but are also proud of the heroic VPA - an army that came into being from the people, fight for the people, and enjoy blood-and-flesh ties with the people. It is also an army absolutely faithful, trustworthy and ready to sacrifice themselves to protect the Party, the State, and the people.
He expressed his hope that VPA officers and soldiers will continue to overcome the difficulties and challenges to successfully fulfil their duties.
As the flooding is forecast to linger on and remain a complex matter in the time to come, they should enhance coordination with ministries, sectors, and local authorities to continue implementing anti-disaster measures and search and rescue efforts, thereby deserving the Party, State and people’s trust, according to the Government leader./.
