Vietnam well conducts pre-deployment training for peacekeepers

Officers and soldiers of Engineering Unit Rotation 1 and Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 4 set off for peacekeeping operations (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Participating in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping activities represents a new development in the international integration capacity of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Practice shows that Vietnamese officers and soldiers are fully capable of integrating and successfully participating in international peacekeeping missions in a multinational, multilingual and multicultural environment; and coordinating in multi-dimensional operations on a global level. These achievements come from the preparation and training of UN peacekeepers by the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations under the Ministry of National Defence.

Accordingly, Vietnam has well conducted pre-deployment training with the motto of increasing practical training and general exercises, thus helping Vietnamese officers and soldiers quickly adapt to the working environment of UN peacekeeping missions.

In June 2018, the UN recognised the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations as one of four international training centres in the region to conduct training under the Tripartite Partnership (Vietnam, the UN and Japan). In 2018-2020, Vietnam organised three training courses for more than 100 international and domestic trainees on the operation of heavy engineering equipment, which was then applauded by the UN Deputy Secretary General.

The country also organises a bilateral exercise with India on UN peacekeeping operations every year, and has coordinated with partner countries such as the US, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK to organise dozens of training courses in Vietnam, for logistics officers, staff officers, mission military specialists, and military observers.

Recognising the importance of foreign language teaching for soldiers, the department has held more than 40 English training courses for more than 500 officers, and soldiers of the level-2 field hospitals and the engineering unit. At the same time, it has coordinated with the French Defence Attaché Office in Hanoi to organize French courses for officers preparing to join French-speaking missions such as in Central Africa./.

VNA