Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese peacekeeping forces are developing strongly, contributing to affirming Vietnam’s role in the worldarena and demonstrating Vietnam’s efforts and commitments to joining UNpeacekeeping operations and building global peace and security.

Recently, Vietnam handed decisions to sent another three officers to UN MultidimensionalIntegrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic(MINUSCA), UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and UN Interim Security Forcefor Abyei (UNISFA), raising the total number of Vietnamese peacekeeper deployedto UN missions to nearly 800.

According to heads of the missions and UN agencies,Vietnamese peacekeepers have shown strong performance in implementing theirassigned tasks with professionalism and discipline, leaving good impressions onmission leaders, friends, and international colleagues with specific, practical, and humane contributions.

Colonel Mac Duc Trong, Vice Director of the VietnamDepartment of Peacekeeping Operations, said in order to prepare replacementforces, the department has selected highly qualified officers and organisedvarious training courses following the UN’s requirements, while sendingofficers abroad for training.

In particular, all the three officers to be deployed to the UNmissions this time have participated in two major peacekeeping exercises in2023 – the Competency Evaluation for Prospective Peacekeeper Programme (CEPPP)and the Vietnam - India Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX) 2023.

The officers are joining the mission in the context that thesecurity situation in the areas still have many unpredictable security andsafety risks, along with harsh weather and climate conditions, and manydangerous diseases, especially malaria, cholera, and Ebola.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Sy Hieu, who will be sent to the MINUSCAto replace Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Phong, said that joining UNpeacekeeping is an important task in a multinational environment with manydifferences in culture and language, requiring comprehensive knowledge in military,politics, profession, foreign affairs, and culture. Therefore, all the three officershave been well prepared in all fields, including high determination in fulfillingtheir tasks.

According to Hieu, the prerequisiteensuring the completion of the assigned tasks is to strictly comply with discipline and security and safety regulations of the UN as well as the laws and culturalidentity of the host country, and not to affect the prestige and image of themilitary and the country of Vietnam.

He said that he and his fellow officers in the mission willstrengthen communications and actively engage in humanitarian activities, thus promotingthe image of the friendly, humane, and peace-loving nation and people ofVietnam as well as the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho's soldiers” to internationalfriends./.