The three-day event, which is co-held by the VNDPKO and the Japanese Defense Attaché Office in Vietnam, drew the participation of Senior Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, VNDPKO Chief; Senior Colonel Tran Trung Hoa, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Engineering Corps; Mr. Nozomu Yamashita, Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Defense Policy under the Japanese Ministry of Defense; the Defense Attachés of Japan, Australia and the UK to Vietnam; Chief of the US Defense Cooperation Office in Vietnam; and representatives of relevant agencies under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense.

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An overview of the opening ceremony 

Addressing the event, the VNDPKO Chief asserted that this training course taking place after the two defense ministries signed a Joint Visions Statement on Vietnam-Japan Defense Cooperation last April is a highlight of the bilateral cooperation in UN peacekeeping activities.

In fact, cooperation between Vietnam and Japan on UN peacekeeping activities has become more practical and effective since April. This is the second Japanese defense working mission sent to Vietnam to promote bilateral cooperation and exchange of experience in joining UN peacekeeping operations.

Regarding this training drive, Senior Colonel Hoang Kim Phung asked the Vietnamese participating sappers to learn knowledge and experience from Japanese experts, and actively drill in specific scenarios to improve their practical skills and expertise in order to successfully deal with situations in the field when being posted to a UN peacekeeping mission.

Speaking at the opening session, Mr. Yamashita said that Japan has a lot of experience in engineer matters at UN peacekeeping missions, and affirmed that Japanese engineer experts will share their valuable field experience in performing engineering tasks at UN peacekeeping missions with Vietnamese engineers. He underscored the significance of the training course, noting that it is a good opportunity for both sides to exchange their knowledge and skills of military engineering.

According to the organizers, during the engineering matters exchange, five high-profile Japanese experts share their field experience with the Vietnamese sappers that are going to be deployed to a UN peacekeeping mission by the end of 2019. The main contents of the course include the deployment of the Japanese engineer contingent to the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); experience in performing specific engineering tasks at UNMISS; coordination between the engineering unit and other forces of UNMISS; management and handling of specific situations; and directions for Vietnam-Japan bilateral cooperation in UN peacekeeping activities in the coming time.

Translated by Thu Nguyen