The Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in the Francophone Area in France took place in Paris, France from 26-27, focusing on ways to improve peacekeeping campaigns in French-speaking countries.

Sen. Lt. Gen Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Head of the Defence Ministry’s Steering Committee for Peacekeeping, led a Vietnamese delegation to the event, which hosted representatives from 56 countries and international organisations. 

The first event of its kind in France, the conference also aims to improve UN peacekeeping missions and seek solutions to challenges in the context of increasing conflicts across the world. 

The conference convened a plenary session and round-table seminars, discussing issues related to training, preparing forces and equipment, and measures to tackle crises. 

In his opening remarks, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault praised the contributions made by UN peacekeeping forces to maintaining peace globally, saying that they shoulder many duties in insecure areas worldwide.

He stressed the vital role played by France in the work. 

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents on the sidelines of the meeting, Sen. Lt. Gen Tuan affirmed the Vietnamese delegation actively joined discussion sessions at the conference to learn from international peacekeeping experience. 

Vietnam and France have stepped up cooperation, with links in peacekeeping being an important connection, he noted. 

He stressed that as a responsible member of the international community, Vietnam wants to join peacekeeping operations, and hopes to learn experience from France, a country that has actively participated in the work in recent years. 

The two countries will further discuss peacekeeping cooperation between the defence ministries at the upcoming Vietnam-France Defence Policy Dialogue.

VNA