In his opening remarks, VNDPKO’s Director Major General Pham Manh Thang emphasized that throughout more than 11 years of preparing and deploying Vietnamese personnel to U.N. peacekeeping missions, Vietnam has consistently received strong and valuable support from the U.N. and Canada, particularly in capacity-building, training, and professional development. The course in 2025 supported by UNITAR and Canada, he noted, is further evidence of the increasingly robust cooperation between the sides in U.N. peacekeeping.
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Delegates at the opening ceremony |
According to General Thang, the course holds special significance. This is the first time UNITAR, Canada, and Vietnam have jointly organized an intensive training program on military gender advisory work in U.N. peacekeeping missions, with the participation of officers from many countries in the region and around the world, alongside U.N. experts and instructors. The initiative also reflects Vietnam’s deeper engagement in U.N. peacekeeping and its growing contingent of highly qualified female military personnel, demonstrating the country’s strong commitment to the U.N. Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
On this occasion, the VNDPKO’s Director expressed sincere appreciation to UNITAR and Canada for their support in organizing the course, and voiced hope for continued assistance in the future. He expressed confidence that, building on the strong foundation of cooperation and the thorough preparation by instructors, coordinators, and trainees, the program would achieve successful outcomes.
The course runs from December 1 to 12, aiming to equip officers of the Vietnam People’s Army and partner nations with essential knowledge and skills required for serving as military gender advisors in U.N. peacekeeping missions under Canada’s Military Training and Cooperation Program. It also seeks to enhance the instructional capacity of Vietnamese trainers on gender issues in peacekeeping operations, while strengthening practical cooperation and friendship among Vietnam, Canada, and international partners.
Participants in the course include officers from Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Senegal, Zambia, Mongolia, Thailand, India, Morocco, Malaysia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Translated by Tran Hoai