Deputy Defense Minister hosts U.N. official

Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien (R) hosts outgoing U.N. Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra.

The Vietnamese general congratulated the U.N. official on completing his tenure in Vietnam and hailed his important contributions to the U.N. Development Program. He thanked the guest for his support for and advice to Vietnam in its participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations, especially the sending of individuals and units to work at U.N. peacekeeping missions and at U.N. headquarters.

The Deputy Defense Minister highly valued the companionship of the U.N. in Vietnam in the past and the support and contributions of generations of U.N.’s leaders and officials, including Mr. Kamal Malhotra.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien presents a souvenir to Mr. Malhotra.

He stressed that Vietnam always treasures the U.N.’s role in maintaining peace and boosting sustainable development in the world, adding it is an important mechanism to implement Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, mutilateralization and diversification of relations, activeness in international relations. 

He also highlighted the effective cooperation between the U.N. agencies, including the U.N. Resident Coordinator Office in Vietnam, with the Vietnamese MND, especially in war consequence relief and U.N. peacekeeping operations.

On the occasion, he thanked the U.N. for supporting Vietnam as the ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council for the 2020-2021 period.

Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, outgoing U.N. Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra, and representatives from the Vietnamese MND and U.N. Resident Coordinator Office in Vietnam in a joint photo

For his part, Mr. Malhotra thanked the host for a warm reception. Speaking highly of the close and effective coordination between the U.N. and Vietnam, especially in U.N. peacekeeping operations and war consequence relief, the U.N. official emphasized that in any positions, he always pays due attention to fostering the relations between the Vietnamese MND and U.N. agencies.

He hoped that the Vietnamese MND will continue creating favorable conditions for and support the collaboration between the U.N. agencies in Vietnam and its relevant affiliates.

Translated by Mai Huong