UN commits to supporting Vietnam in peacekeeping activities

Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh had meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General and Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operation (DPKO) Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Director of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) Agnes Marcaillou, in New York, on October 13.

Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh and UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix

Cooperation measures to support Vietnam in enhancing the country’s involvement in the UN’s peacekeeping activities were on the table at the event. The two sides agreed to soon conduct official negotiations in order to ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the deployment of the second-level field hospital in South Sudan.

The DPKO agreed to create conditions for relevant Vietnamese agencies in legal procedures and final preparations for the second-level field hospital.

It also pledged to help Vietnam deploy a military engineering unit to a suitable mission, possibly in South Sudan. The DPKO will soon sign a cooperation document with Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre to bolster coordination and enhance Vietnam’s capacity in peacekeeping activities in the coming time.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is willing to welcome an inspection group from the UN, scheduled for December, to evaluate the second-level field hospital.

As part of the activities in New York, Deputy Minister Vinh met with Haoling Xu, Assistant Secretary-General and Director for the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Xu lauded Vietnam’s efforts and commitments in peace keeping operations, mine clearance and the settlement of post-war matters.

UNDP pledged to support the Vietnamese Government in building capacity to join the UN peacekeeping force, and giving consultations on long-term strategies to help develop the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre into a regional and international peacekeeping training centre, he stressed.

The UN official stated that the UNDP will work to improve the country’s capacity in tackling leftover bombs, mines and toxic chemicals and handling challenges related to sustainable socio-economic development to enhance quality of life for people in affected areas.

(Source: NDO)