Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien (R) and UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis at the meeting in Hanoi on August 12 (Photo: VNA) Chienappreciated the cooperation and assistance from the UN and its agencies inVietnam, especially the UN Resident Coordinator Office, when the country servedas the ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Councilduring 2020 - 2021.
Hethanked the UN and relevant agencies for working closely with Vietnam tosuccessfully carry out many war aftermath settlement activities, particularlythe programmes and projects on addressing war-left unexploded ordnances andtoxic chemicals, resulting in positive outcomes.
The official said he hopes the UN will continue coordinating with the DefenceMinistry in war aftermath settlement through financial and technical aid,capacity building, experience sharing, and database building.
SinceVietnam officially joined UN peacekeeping forces in 2014, it has successfullydeployed over 500 personnel to peacekeeping missions and the UN headquarters. Itis also the first country in Southeast Asia to implement three training courseson heavy engineering equipment under the Vietnam - UN - Japan trilateralpartnership programme, receiving high evaluation from UN leaders.
Thecountry has always maintained a rate of female participation in peacekeepingoperations higher than the average, and pledges to maintain and increase the rate to over 20% by 2025, according to Chien.
Vietnamwill further engage in UN peacekeeping operations, including sending personnelto more missions and diversifying participation forms, he noted, adding that itplans to deploy police to the operations.
Theofficial asked the UN to keep supporting Vietnam’s commitments and politicalresolve to join peacekeeping operations, and create favourable conditions forfurther enhancing cooperation in this regard.
Forher part, Tamesis applauded Vietnam's efforts, especially its military andpolice forces, to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
TheUN will assist the Vietnamese Government and people to secure the best possiblepost-pandemic socio-economic recovery and meet healthcare-related demand, she wenton.
The official said she recently had the honour to sign the StrategicFramework for Sustainable Development Cooperation with the VietnameseGovernment, describing it as a very important document outlining the UN’sstrategy and assistance priorities for the country in the next five years. Thedocument also underlined the UN’s role in helping Vietnam recover after thepandemic and ensure that no one is left behind.
The Resident Coordinator spoke highly of Vietnam’sachievements in joining UN peacekeeping operations, including the high rate offemale participation, noting the UN pledges to continue assistance in thisfield.
TheUN also highly values Vietnam sending police officers to peacekeepingoperations, including three to the mission in South Sudan and one tothe Police Division in New York, Tamesis added./.
VNA
