Professional exchange between the Vietnamese and French defence ministries in June 2018 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has registered some 268 strong standby armyengineers to join the United Nations (UN)’s peacekeeping mission in South Sudanafter the Defence Minister agreed in principle to dispatch an engineer troop inreplacement of the UK’s in 2020.
Examining Vietnam’s registration to the Peacekeeping Capability ReadinessSystem (PCRS), the UN has required that Vietnam better its major equipment andself-sustainment services. It will send a team to Vietnam for furtherinspection by mid-2019.
At a meeting in Hanoi on February 18, Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of theVietnam Peacekeeping Department, said that the department has joined hands withcompetent agencies to organise training courses as well as English and Frenchlanguage courses for the engineers.
Negotiation is underway with the UN and the UK for engineer replacement inFebruary 2020 when the UK peacekeepers complete their mission and withdraw fromthe war-torn area.
There are currently five candidates for the position with Bangladesh, Cambodia,and Vietnam all granted level 1 readiness in the PSRS, which means they are allable to provide the list of major and self-sustainment equipment as well as thecertification of completion of basic training and human rights screening.Meanwhile, China and Croatia have not registered to the system yet.
Phung said that the UN has voiced support for Vietnam if the Southeast Asiancountry can fit its capacity, human resources, and equipment requirements.
According to Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, theVietnam Peacekeeping Department and relevant departments should coordinate inthe purchase of equipment, ensuring that it meets the UN’s quality standards.
In addition, meticulous preparation must be made prior to the UN’s evaluationin a couple of months, he said, adding that the Engineer Corps High Command isresponsible for accommodation and training, while the peacekeeping department andthe Department of Foreign Relations are in charge of conducting surveys in theAfrican country.
Also, he is asking the Republic of Korea, France, and the UK to provideprofessional training for Vietnamese troops.
Joining the UN’s peacekeeping force for the 2014-2020 period, Vietnam has sofar sent 29 officers and one level-2 field hospital to the UN MultidimensionalIntegrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic and the UNMission in South Sudan. –VNA
VNA
