The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense held a ceremony in Hanoi on Tuesday morning to send the country’s Engineering Unit Rotation 2 to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Abyei area, located in Africa.

Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and deputy head of the defense ministry’s steering committee for the participation in UN peacekeeping operations, chaired the send-off ceremony organized at Noi Bai International Airport.

According to Colonel Pham Manh Thang, head of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Engineering Unit Rotation 2 members received specialized training in professional and operational skills, military tactics, foreign languages, and pre-deployment training following the UN’s guidelines.

The unit is also fully equipped with knowledge regarding UN peacekeeping, international laws, especially the International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict, foreign relations, survival skills, detection and identification of explosive materials, standards of conduct in prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and others.

Given the training and knowledge acquired, the entire members of the unit are fully able to fulfill their assigned duties and responsibilities, he said.

Besides, the defense ministry purchased an adequate amount of equipment and goods to make sure that the unit can complete their assigned duties during the time in the Abyei region.

Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan demanded that all the members will stay united, overcome all obstacles, and accomplish their assigned tasks.

They were also told to uphold and promote the great traditions and image of the Vietnam People's Army to international friends, contribute to the effective implementation of the Vietnamese Party and state’s foreign policy, and enhance the position of Vietnam and its army in the global arena, Tan said.

They must strictly comply with the regulations of the UN and the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, the law of the host country, as well as the law of Vietnam and its military’s disciplines.

The Ministry of National Defense on November 20 last year passed a decision to establish the Engineering Unit Rotation 2, composed of 203 officers with 19 being female.

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