Members of Engineering Unit Rotation 1 and Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 4 (Photo: VNA)

This is the first time Vietnam has deployed an engineering unit to a UN peacekeeping mission, and it is also the Vietnamese unit with the largest number of personnel joining UN peacekeeping operations so far.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency, Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said taking part in UN peacekeeping operations is a major policy of the Politburo and the Party Central Committee so as to promote the country’s integration into the world at a higher level.

It is an honour of the Vietnam People’s Army to be the first force to send personnel to this international mission. Over the last eight years, its officers have proved themselves completely capable of fulfilling tasks at the request of the UN, and they have received very high evaluation from UN leaders.

He noted they have also been highly valued and admired by international friends as well as people in the host countries thanks to their successful implementation of many activities, especially the mass mobilisation activities that had never been carried out in the missions in the past.

Aside from Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 4, Vietnam also deployed its first engineering unit with 184 members this time, he said, expressing his belief that with the experiences obtained over the last eight years, the engineering unit will be successful at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Phung noted earlier, a UN delegation had come to Vietnam to survey and decided to choose the country's engineering unit out of 15 candidates as they realised the capacity of Vietnamese engineers.

Deploying a big unit like this 184-strong engineering one is a big challenge since it is completely different from the previous times when Vietnam sent individuals or small units like Level-2 field hospitals to peacekeeping operations.

However, thanks to thorough preparations made in five years, the Vietnamese side was assessed as the most outstanding among the 15 units wishing to join UNISFA.

The official said he believes with thorough preparations in multiple aspects, the engineering unit of Vietnam will successfully perform the duties assigned by the Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defence while meeting the UN’s expectations.