Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan
Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam continues maintaining its peacekeeping forces in the field and pledges its deeper participation in UN peacekeeping operations by considering the expansion of new types of units, such as mechanised infantry, military police, communications, and mission protection units, a Vietnamese officer has stated.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan made the statement while addressing the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 Berlin on May 13-14, which gathered over 100 delegations from UN member states and international organisations.
Tan noted that although Vietnam only began participating in UN peacekeeping operations in May 2014, it has achieved encouraging results.
Vietnam has deployed nearly 1,100 personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, he said, adding that the Southeast Asian nation has encouraged and created opportunities for female military personnel to join peacekeeping operations, while regularly coordinating with the UN and international partners to conduct training programmes and international exercises.
Vietnam is also committed to maintaining and working to increase the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, and strengthening cooperation with international partners to better training capacity and readiness for future UN peacekeeping activities, Tan said.
Within the framework of the event, Tan held a bilateral meeting with Giles Norman, Director General of the Transnational Threats and Conflicts Bureau of Canada, during which the Vietnamese officer affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence highly values defence cooperation with Canada, particularly in peacekeeping.
Tan proposed the two sides to effectively implement the signed Memorandum of Understanding on peacekeeping cooperation, hoping that Canada will share its experience, provide support, and endorse Vietnam’s initiative to nominate personnel for positions such as Deputy Force Commander and Force Commander at UN peacekeeping missions.
Tan also had a sideline meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare Atul Khare./.
