(VOVWORLD) -President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has praised the dedication, responsibility and devotion of the Vietnamese peacekeepers whose contributions have brightened the image of the country and people of Vietnam, who love peace and work for prosperity and development of the human community.
 State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc hands over the decision to Engineering unit No. 1, Level-2 Field Hospital No. 4. (Photo: VOV) |
Vietnamese peacekeeping forces, including the Military Engineering Unit No.1 and the Level-2 Field Hospital No.4, held a departure ceremony on Wednesday at Noi Bai International Airport ahead of their work at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mission.
Addressing the ceremony, President Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council and Commander of the People's Armed Forces, said Vietnam's participation in the UN peacekeeping activities over the past eight years have been a bright spot in multilateral foreign relations of the Party, State and Vietnam People's Army.
President Phuc expressed his belief that Vietnam's first Engineer Team participating in UN peacekeeping activities will promote their bravery, intelligence and capacity to perform well their humanitarian assistance missions and build infrastructure to serve indigenous people, meeting the requirements of the United Nations.
Since 2014 Vietnam has sent a total of 76 officers to perform UN missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and UNISFA alongside 189 medical officers and staff from the level-2 field hospital as part of the mission.
This time, the participating force consists of the 184-member Military Engineering Unit. The destination for officers and soldiers will be the UNISFA mission in Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan. They will help provide humanitarian assistance, supporting the UN delegations in keeping and re-establishing peace in the area. They will also ensure transport, perform road maintenance, help reconstruct the UN base, and provide support for the local community by building community houses, schools, and other public facilities.