Despite living and working far from their families in difficult circumstances and harsh African weather conditions, female Vietnamese soldiers in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan have performed their assigned tasks well and at the same time demonstrated the merits of Vietnamese women in the minds of local people and international friends.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, on February 21 thanked Vietnam for its strong support for as well as personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.
Vietnam needs to prepare personnel to meet the requirements of higher positions in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, and continue to send candidates, especially female staff, to the UN headquarters, Colonel Mac Duc Trong, deputy head of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has said.
The United Nations (UN) highly valued Vietnam's high sense of responsibility and the professionalism of Vietnamese officers in peacekeeping operations, and wished that Vietnam will continue to maintain and increase its forces in UN peacekeeping missions, according to Deputy Minister of National Defence Hoang Xuan Chien.
Bilateral and multilateral defence diplomacy has been carried out in a proactive, flexible, creative, effective, and substantive manner, continuing to serve as one of the pillars in Vietnam’s diplomacy and help raise the country’s role, stature, and prestige in the world.
Staff members of Level-2 Field Hospital No.2, who had finished their tenure in South Sudan, and officers joining UN peacekeeping operations paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh during a ceremony held by the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations in Hanoi on June 29.
“Let us live in peace and love. Let us forget the last things”. These words are written on a blackboard at a school in Bentiu town in South Sudan. Just a few words, but they leave a strong impression. They reflect a desire to live in peace, with stability and development, by not only children but all people of South Sudan.
“The moment Flight C17 landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi after flying from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, touched me the most. The joy of returning to the Fatherland and my family after nearly 18 months away overwhelmed my comrades and I.”
The peacekeeping force of Vietnam has made considerable contributions over the past years, which have won the recognition and high evaluation from the United Nations and international friends, thereby helping to promote the country’s stature and prestige in the region and the world.
Vietnam’s peacekeeping force has worked to enhance the country’s position in promoting the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including maintaining sustainable peace around the world, Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has said.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Vietnam Youth Federation held an exchange programme on April 15 between 24 Vietnamese peacekeepers who have returned from the UN mission in South Sudan and over 500 local young people.
Setting aside any worries or concerns, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30 officers and soldiers of the Level-2 field hospital No 3 left for a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan on March 24.
The Defence Ministry held a ceremony on March 23 in Ho Chi Minh City to send off the staff of the third Level-2 Field Hospital, who will participate in the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations is a major policy of the Party and State and also a step towards realising the country’s policy of intensive and comprehensive integration into the world.
The 12th National Party Congress took place from January 20 to 28 in Hanoi. It was held 30 years after the entire Party, army and people implemented Doi Moi (reform), which was initiated at the 6th Party Congress (December 1986).
Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, affirmed that all preparations have been completed and the staff of the Level-2 Field Hospital No 3 are fully capable of replacing Hospital No.2.
Defence diplomacy is not only an external task of the Ministry of National Defence or the army but also associated with national independence, sovereignty, and interests of Vietnam, as well as security and peace in the region and the world.