VietNamNet Bridge – As many as 100 military doctors and officers of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) who are expected to join United Nations peacekeeping forces will be equipped with basic English skills during a course that opened in Hanoi on August 26.

The course, jointly held by the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre (VPC), the US Defence Cooperation Office in Hanoi and Military Hospital 354, is set to help the Vietnamese officers to meet requirements for attending international seminars and conferences, and training courses on peacekeeping operations abroad.

VPC Director Colonel Hoang Kim Phung said Vietnam is intensively and extensively taking part in the UN peacekeeping activities as part of a project on the participation of the VPA in the UN peacekeeping missions during the 2014-2020 period and the following years approved by the Prime Minister.

To realise the project, the centre has coordinated with foreign partners experienced in peacekeeping, force preparation, professional training and English language teaching, he said.

The colonel noted that the course is an important step in implementing a cooperation agreement between the Vietnam Ministry of National Defence and the US Department of Defence in the field of peacekeeping.

After one year of operation, the centre has sent two officers to the UN Mission in South Sudan and three others to the Central Africa mission.

It has also trained officers for the UN peacekeeping missions and sent more than 70 officers to training courses and conferences on peacekeeping operations abroad.        

Source: VNA