Viet Nam's first international workshop on building a UN peacekeeping force wrapped up July 31 in Ha Noi after five intensive working days.

The Vietnamese Peacekeeping Centre (VPC) and the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) managed by the US Department of State organised the event.

The workshop centred on the steps required to deploy one unit (field hospital, level 2) to a UN mission; training curricula for personnel to join the UN peacekeeping force; supplies for field forces; regimes and policies related to the UN's reimbursement for individuals and units; and field surveys that Viet Nam needs to carry out before sending troops on peacekeeping missions.

Vietnamese medical staff, engineers and technicians are capable of fulfilling the UN peacekeeping tasks required of them, participants said at the event. However, more work was needed to meet UN standards on international laws, co-ordination skills and English-speaking skills.

The workshop was a step toward finalising the contents of recent agreements on enhanced co-operation in UN peacekeeping missions signed by Viet Nam's Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defense, said Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, the VPC's director. "The workshop was also the result of talks between the two ministers of defence during US Secretary of Defense [Ashton Carter]'s visit to Viet Nam in May this year."

The VPC expressed its hope for continued assistance from the UN and the GPOI.

GPOI Programme Delegation Head Richard Maloney said the GPOI wanted to continue working closely with Viet Nam in the near future. It was GPOI's pleasure to work with Viet Nam to carry out UN peacekeeping missions, especially those who are capable and dedicated, Maloney said.

VNS