Sen. Lieut. Gen Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (centre, right) and Lieut. Gen. Ueda Kazumasa, Chief of Staff for Japanese Ground Component Command at their meeting in Hanoi on September 15 (Photo: qdnd.vn) Affirming that Vietnam attaches great importance to promoting the extensivestrategic partnership with Japan, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Tan said that defence hasbeen one of the important pillars in bilateral relations, particularly regarding education,training, and UN peacekeeping operations.
The two sides have supported each other at multilateral military and defenceoperations and forums in the region, including the ASEAN Defence Ministers’Meeting Plus (ADMM ) and the ASEAN Regional Forum, he noted.
On the foundation of the memorandum ofunderstanding on cooperation in the field of UN peacekeeping signed in 2015, the two sides haveeffectively conducted joint activities in professional training and experiencesharing in UN peacekeeping operations. This has included the exchange ofexperts and working groups and the participation in UN peacekeeping trainingcourses.
On September 13, Vietnam launched the CompetencyEvaluation Programme for Prospective UN Peacekeepers (CEPPP) and the Experts’Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations Cycle 4. The programme is within theframework of the ADMM-Plus co-chaired by Vietnam and Japan.
Sen. Lieut. Gen. Tan underlined that the co-chair of the working group andactivities in the current cycle showed the commitment by the Defence Ministries ofVietnam and Japan in promoting cooperation within the ADMMand the UN peacekeeping missions.
The official proposed that in the time to come, the two sides continueto effectively implement cooperation activities as in agreements reached byleaders of the two ministries, while seeking new areas for cooperation that fitthe demand and capacity of each side.
For his part, Lieut. Gen. Ueda appreciates the position and role ofVietnam as well as the Vietnam-Japan defence relations. He hailed Vietnam’spreparations and coordination between the two sides in organizing the CEPPP,expressing his belief that the programme will be a success, contributing topeace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
He said that after withdrawing the engineer unit from the UN Peacekeeping Missionin the Central African Republic (UNMISS), this is the first time since thatJapan sent another large force to a UN peacekeeping activity. Therefore, theJapanese side paid special attention to successfully coordinate with theVietnamese Defence Ministry to implement the CEPPP, he stated.
The CEPPP aims to affirm the role and responsibility of Vietnam and Japan inmultilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms regarding UN peacekeeping withinthe framework of the ADMM . This serves to enhance the UN peacekeepingperformance of ADMM member states.
This is also a chance for ADMM member countries to improve their capacity in coordinating witheach other in preparing and deploying forces for UN peacekeeping operations,while contributing to fostering the friendship and cooperation between Vietnamand ADMM members in this field./.
VNA
