On the afternoon of February 22, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense, presented the President's decision to four officers on UN peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic, the Republic of South Sudan and the Abyei region.

The four officers include:

Lieutenant Colonel Ly Thanh Tam (Vietnam Peacekeeping Department) holds the position of Military Observer, Commander of Vietnam Peacekeeping Force, Head of Working Group at UNMISS Mission, Republic of South Sudan.

Major Luc Thai Ha (Coast Guard Command) holds the position of Intelligence Analyst at the MINUSCA mission division, Central African Republic.

Captain Vu Quang Khai (Coast Guard Command) and Captain Nguyen Tien Thanh (Navy) both hold the position of Military Observer at the UNISFA mission, Abyei region.

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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien presents the President's decision to four officers. Photo: Thuy Linh

Colonel Pham Manh Thang, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, said that so far, all preparations for the officers have been basically completed. All four officers have received approval letters from the United Nations and are confident in their work, have determined their tasks well, and are ready to deploy to the mission to carry out their assigned tasks.

Lieutenant Colonel Ly Thanh Tam has experience participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations in 2020 as a Military Observer. Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Ly Thanh Tam will have many favorable conditions, grasp the local situation well to perform well the duties and tasks in the position of Commander of the Force, Head of the Working Group.

Congratulating the four officers, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien said that this is the first deployment of the Vietnam People's Army to participate in Vietnam peacekeeping activities in the new year.

The Deputy Minister of National Defense requested the four officers to prepare well, clearly define their responsibilities, ensure security and safety; when arriving at the mission, quickly receive the handover and focus on performing their duties and tasks, grasp the related situation, coordinate well with local forces; promote the spirit of internal solidarity, strictly comply with the command and direction of the mission, ensure strict military discipline, and spread the beautiful image of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

The leaders of the Ministry of National Defense acknowledged the efforts of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department in coordinating with units to prepare forces ready to replace unit-level formations and individual positions, especially for Engineering Team No. 3 and Level 2 Field Hospital No. 6.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien noted that agencies and units continue to do a good job of creating resources, ensuring quality and quantity according to the requirements of the United Nations and the Ministry of National Defense.

To date, Vietnam has sent 792 officers and professional soldiers to deploy individually and as units (including 109 officers deployed individually, 92 men and 17 women).

Of the 83 soldiers who returned home after completing their term, 25 were assessed by the United Nations as having completed their mission excellently and were awarded certificates of merit, accounting for nearly 30%.

According to the assessment of the United Nations missions and agencies, Vietnamese officers have made great efforts in performing assigned tasks at the missions, demonstrating high professionalism and discipline; leaving many good impressions with specific, practical, and highly humane contributions.

2024 marks the 10th anniversary of Vietnam deploying forces to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

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