President sends army major to carry out peacekeeping in Central Africa

On the morning of March 22, the Ministry of National Defense organized a ceremony to present the President's decision to Major Nguyen Van Phong (formerly Assistant, Political Department, Brigade 229, Engineering Corps) to carry out the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

The leaders of the Ministry of National Defense also congratulated 6 officers who completed their terms, including: Lieutenant Colonel Le Ngoc Minh, Major Nguyen Van Thu, Lieutenant Colonel Vu Trong Quynh, Major Bui Xuan Duong at the UNISFA Mission in the Abyei region; Captain Vu Hong Hung at the South Sudan Mission and Major Trinh Van Cuong at the Central African Republic Mission (MINUSCA).

Deputy Minister of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien presented the President's decision to Major Nguyen Van Phong.

Major General Hoang Kim Phung - Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department said that Major Nguyen Van Phong has participated in training courses, pre-deployment training for staff officers and military observers. Up to now, Major Phong has enough capacity, meets the requirements of the United Nations, the tasks assigned by the Ministry of National Defense, and the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, and is ready to go.

Here, Major General Hoang Kim Phung noted that the assigned area still has many difficulties due to the potentially unstable security situation, the risk of armed conflict, harsh climate, and many types of epidemics. The Department of Peacekeeping and Major Nguyen Van Phong have done a good job in the rear area.

The Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department asked Major Nguyen Van Phong to overcome difficulties and coordinate forces to perform the task well.

Regarding the 6 officers who completed their mission and returned home, Major General Hoang Kim Phung said that 5/6 officers were assessed by the United Nations as having completed their mission excellently.

Deputy Minister of Defense congratulated 6 officers on completing their mission.

On behalf of the officers who completed their missions and returned home, Major Nguyen Van Thu shared that with their efforts, attempts and determination, at the end of their term of service, all officers were awarded medals for their contributions to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission by the Mission Commander and were assessed as having completed their missions well and excellently. Major Nguyen Van Thu in particular was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Director of the Abyei Department of Education for his achievements in volunteer teaching at the school.

Major Nguyen Van Thu said that since the establishment of the Abyei mission 10 years ago, the Vietnamese Peacekeeping Force was the first force to closely follow and create a good image with the local people. When a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense visited, the Mayor there personally presented a cow to the delegation. For Vietnam, a cow is very ordinary, but for the people of Abyei, this is a symbol of economy, property, and the respect and affection of the giver.

Major Nguyen Van Thu.

On behalf of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien - Deputy Minister of National Defense congratulated the officers who had completed their missions and returned home and the officers preparing to depart for their missions.

"Vietnamese officers and staff performing peacekeeping missions are highly appreciated by the United Nations," Deputy Minister Hoang Xuan Chien emphasized, adding that when he visited the mission, he saw the affection of not only the local people but also the peacekeeping forces of other countries for Vietnamese officers.

The Deputy Minister also recalled the sharing and gratitude of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2022 and of United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix in November 2022 during their visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam is proud to have over 13% of female soldiers participating in Peacekeeping operations, compared to only about 9% in other countries, and Vietnam is striving to increase this ratio, expanding in scale, form, and types.

The Deputy Minister of National Defense highly appreciated the preparations of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department for Major Nguyen Van Phong to prepare for his mission, as well as the performance of the 6 officers who have just finished their term and returned home.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien - Deputy Minister of National Defense delivered a speech assigning tasks.

Assigning specific tasks, the Deputy Minister requested Major Nguyen Van Phong to thoroughly grasp and seriously implement the foreign policy of the Party, State, and Army, strictly abide by the discipline of the Vietnam People's Army, regulations of the United Nations, laws of the host country, instructions of competent agencies and the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department.

The leaders of the Ministry of National Defense noted that it is necessary to ensure military style while performing tasks, always be careful in words and actions, and preserve and build the position and image of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

When operating in a multinational environment, officers need to quickly integrate, behave in a civilized and standard manner, and demonstrate to international friends the capacity of Vietnamese soldiers in language mastery, organization, situation handling, and high professionalism in work./.

Tran Thuong