On October 24, at the ministry’s headquarters in Hanoi, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Defense Minister, handed over directives and assigned tasks to the peacekeepers.
Accordingly, Colonel Le Ngoc Son and Major Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong will serve as military observers on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Notably, Major Phuong will be the first female Vietnamese officer to serve as a military observer on a UN mission and the third individual female officer Vietnam has been sent to a UN mission.
At the event, she expressed her honor and pride in fulfilling her duty at UNMISS and promised to work with a heighten sense of responsibility, apply knowledge and experiences obtained during previous training courses in the field, and to uphold the good virtues of Uncle Ho's soldiers and Vietnamese women to successfully fulfill all assigned tasks.
Meanwhile, Colonel Son affirmed that they have completed all preparations for the deployment and emphasized their willingness and determination during task performances in the host country.
On this occasion, four peacekeepers who have finished their missions at the UN Missions in South Sudan and Central Africa reported their accomplishments to the ministry. According to a report, their contributions to the two missions have been praised by the UN.
In his remarks, General Vinh highly valued the efforts and working outcomes of the four returning officers. They not only completed their assigned tasks but also effectively promoted external relations with peacekeepers from other countries and introduced the beautiful features of the Vietnam People’s Army and the country’s land and people to international friends.
The Deputy Defense Minister held that these records have represented the development of the Vietnamese peacekeeping force and believed that Vietnamese peacekeepers will continue to successfully fulfill such a noble international service.
Assigning missions to Colonel Son and Major Phuong, General Vinh asked them to embrace the Party’s, State’s and Army’s standpoints and diplomatic policies, and observe Vietnamese military discipline as well as the regulations of the UNMISS and the laws of the host country.
They were also requested to actively promote solidarity among troops and officials of other countries working at UNMISS, ensure complete safety, and further popularize the images of Vietnam’s land, people, and military to their international peers.
General Vinh believed that they would successfully complete all assigned tasks during their terms at the UNMISS.
Translated by Van Hieu