Vietnam, as an active and responsible member of the international
community, will assign soldiers to join the peacekeeping forces of the
United Nations (UN) around the world, according to one of the country’s
leading defence officials.
Deputy Minister of
National Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, made the
pledge to provide assistance during a visit to the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations and other UN agencies at the UN headquarters in
New York City, the US, from June 26-29.
Vinh
declared that conditions will be put in place so that Vietnamese
soldiers can join military medical, engineering and observation units of
peacekeeping forces without delay.
At a reception
held for the Vietnamese general, Assistant Secretary General for
Peacekeeping Operations at the UN Edmon Mulet welcomed Vietnam ’s
willingness to support the UN’s mission for global peace.
He presented information about his department’s history, apparatus and
targets and offered some case studies of previous and ongoing
peacekeeping missions.
Mulet expressed his belief
that as a nation which has made many sacrifices in its struggle for
peace, Vietnam will be able to contribute precious knowledge and
experience to UN forces.
For his part, the Vietnamese guest thanked the UN’s positive assessment of the country’s role in peacekeeping.
Vinh stressed that being a UN member nation brings with it honour, but also responsibility.
Earlier, Deputy Minister Vinh and the Vietnamese inter-sectoral
delegation visited South Sudan and surveyed the ongoing UN
peacekeeping mission in the war-torn country.
Deputy Minister Vinh is heading the Defence Ministry’s Steering Committee for participation in UN peacekeeping missions.-VNA