The event saw the presence of Manager of the United Nations-led project Harinder Sood, the Japanese Prime Minister’s Special Advisor Kentaro Sonoura, and representatives from several diplomatic agencies.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Sen. Lt. Gen. Pham Ngoc Minh said that Vietnam’s participation in the UN peacekeeping operations has been a breakthrough in realising the country’s foreign policy, marking a distinct change in both the quality and quantity of its multilateral cooperation, especially in defence and security.

He noted that as Vietnam is actively making preparations for deploying a team of engineers to a suitable mission as requested by the UN, the country has also been chosen to host the first training course in Southeast Asia within the project’s framework. This allocation of responsibility reflects the UN’s recognition and positive evaluation of Vietnam’s contributions to peacekeeping operations.

The course will gather 16 trainees from Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Timor Leste, Singapore, and Vietnam under the training of 20 specialists from Japan. It will equip them with knowledge and techniques to power heavy engineering equipment like bulldozers, excavators, motor graders, and semi-trailer trucks in order to carry out the operations of UN peacekeeping missions’ engineer units.

The Triangular Partnership Project was initiated by the UN in 2014 with a view to improving the capacity of a rapid deployment of support forces for UN peacekeeping missions. It has been focusing on promoting the capacity of engineer units, including organising pilot and official training courses in various countries.

On June 25, 2018, the UN Department of Field Support chose Vietnam as one of the training locations under this project in Southeast Asia.

VNA