President Vo Van Thuong (L) bids farewells to officers deployed to the UN missions in South Sudan and Abyei on June 29. (Photo: VNA)
The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Ministers of National Defence Nguyen Tan Cuong and Hoang Xuan Chien.
The fifth rotation of the Level Two Field Hospital, which will replace the fourth rotation of Level Two Field Hospital in South Sudan, consists of 63 members, including 11 females. Meanwhile, the second rotation of the Engineering Unit, replacing the first rotation of the Engineering Unit in Abyei, has 184 members, including 19 females.
In his speech, President Thuong affirmed the Party and State’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralisation of external relations for regional and global peace, cooperation, and development. He stressed that the country's political commitment is to stay ready to join hands in settling difficult issues and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for cooperation and development.
So far, the country has sent 533 officers and professional soldiers to UN peacekeeping operations, and they have properly fulfilled their tasks. The achievements by the UN peacekeeping force of Vietnam have been highly valued, helping with the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Millennium Development Goals of the UN.
The 63 members of the fifth rotation of the Level Two Field Hospital will depart Tan Son Nhat airport in HCM City on June 30 on a flight operated by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) bound for South Sudan.
This same aircraft will return to Hanoi on July 3 with Vietnamese peacekeepers who have been operating the Level 2 Field Hospital providing medical support to the UN Mission in South Sudan for over a year. In addition to the peacekeepers, the ADF will also transport over 20 tonnes of stores, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to South Sudan to support the operation of the hospital.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has transported personnel and equipment for Vietnam’s Level 2 Field Hospital in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan for a fifth time since 2018.