Vietnam sends first female officer to UN peacekeeping mission

Major Do Thi Hang Nga of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre, under the Ministry of National Defence, has become the country’s first female officer to join the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh (L) hands over to Major Do Thi Hang Nga a decision sending her to UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of National Defence hosted a ceremony in Hanoi, on October 30, in order to assign the task to Major Do Thi Hang Nga, who began working as a staff officer in charge of overseeing military operations for the next 12 months as of October 29.

Before embarking on the task, Nga partook in various training courses in Sri Lanka, China, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea.

Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh said that the dispatch of a female officer to the UN peacekeeping mission demonstrates gender equality and affirms the role of women in global activities.

Vinh asked Nga to try her utmost and effectively coordinate with her colleagues in order to promptly get to grips with the job and improve her knowledge and competence, as well as strictly abiding by the UN and mission’s regulations and ensuring safety while on duty.

Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre, said that in the three years since joining the UN peacekeeping operations, Vietnam has sent 20 officers to missions in Central Africa and South Sudan.

(Source: NDO)