Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VDPO) under the Ministry of National Defence on August 7 opened a pre-deployment training course and a field exercise for Engineering Unit Rotation 3 and Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 6, set to engage in UN peacekeeping operations this year.
Taking place from August 1 to September 14, the course and exercise provide 198 members of the engineering unit and 70 others of the field hospital with necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their tasks at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), including UN peacekeeping operations and Vietnam’s contributions, the basic principles, the legal foundation, peacebuilding activities, and those to protect human rights and civilians. This is also an occasion to assess the capacity of the two units before their deployment.
VDPO Director Major General Pham Manh Thang required lecturers to keep themselves updated on the new changes in the UN missions, give the peacekeepers substantive training, and make detailed evaluation of their performance.
Meanwhile, trainees must strictly comply with discipline, and proactively study the culture, working environment, and the way UN peacekeeping operations are performed, he added.
Vietnam has actively engaged in UN peacekeeping operations since 2014, which is an important policy of the Party and State during the nation’s international integration while reflecting its stature in the international community.
More than 800 military officials and professional personnel of the Vietnamese army and police have been sent in the forms of individual and unit to the UN peacekeeping missions in Abyei, Central African Republic, and South Sudan, along with the UN headquarters.
Established on May 27, 2014, the VDPO has turned itself into an elite force which has affirmed its professionalism and capacity in the international working environment. All units and officers have well performed their duties, helping improve the position and prestige of the Vietnam People’s Army and the country as a whole, as well as popularise the images of affectionate, hospitable and peace-loving Vietnamese people in the international arena./.
