Vietnam will send five more military officers to participate in three United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions and the European Union Training Mission, bringing the total number of Vietnamese officers involved in international peacekeeping operations to nearly 1,100, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

These officers received State President Luong Cuong’s decision to participate in international peacekeeping activities at a ceremony held by the ministry in Hanoi on Monday.

Among the officers, Lieutenant Colonel Le Minh Thao will serve as a military observer with the UN Mission in South Sudan, while Major Le Thi Phuong Dung and Senior Lieutenant Pham Duc Tho will also serve as military observers with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei.

The Abyei area, covering about 10,000 square kilometers, is a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan.

Of the two remaining officers, Captain Nguyen Anh Tuan will join the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic as an intelligence analysis officer, while Captain Nguyen Thanh Hai will be deployed to the European Union Training Mission, also in the Central African Republic.

According to the ministry, these five officers will replace their predecessors at their respective missions. Captain Tuan will depart for his duties on Tuesday evening, while the remaining officers will leave next month.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of National Defense Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien commended the five officers as outstanding personnel nominated by their respective agencies and units for international missions.

Chien instructed the officers to strictly uphold and implement the foreign policy of the Party and state.

He emphasized the importance of adhering to the discipline of the Vietnam People's Army, the regulations of the UN, the laws of the host country, and the directives of relevant authorities, including the ministry’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

The deputy minister also stressed the need for the officers to demonstrate their competence and professionalism, contributing to enhancing Vietnam’s image, as well as that of its people and armed forces, on the international stage. 

He urged them to maintain a spirit of self-reliance and resilience, overcome challenges with proactivity and creativity, foster internal unity, and regularly share experience and information to support one another in successfully fulfilling their tasks.

Since joining UN peacekeeping activities in 2014, Vietnam has sent nearly 1,100 professional officers and soldiers to join missions as individuals and units, and all of them have fulfilled their assigned duties and responsibilities. 

Currently, the ministry has established Sapper Unit No. 4 and Level 2 Field Hospital No. 7, with training and preparations underway for their scheduled deployment in September as part of a rotational replacement for UN peacekeeping missions.

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