Delegates at the meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is preparing to deploy seven new unit types for the United Nations peacekeeping mission, signalling the country’s deepening commitment to global security operations, a defence ministry official said.

Since May 2014, Việt Nam has dispatched nearly 1,400 officers and professional personnel, including 32 police officers, to UN missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Abyei region, and a European Union training mission in the Central African Republic, as well as UN headquarters and its liaison office in Belgium, Director of the ministry’s Việt Nam Department of Peacekeeping Operations Maj. Gen Phạm Mạnh Thắng told an inter-agency task force meeting in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Thắng said Vietnamese forces have maintained a clean safety record and won praise from the UN and the international community. Outside their mandated duties, they have run free medical clinics, built classrooms and roads, delivered clean water, school supplies, and agricultural training, projecting the image of “Uncle Hồ’s soldiers” and people’s police in the new era.

The country has deployed 181 individual staff officers, military observers, logistics personnel, police commanders and civilian-military coordination officers, among others. At the unit level, seven rotations of a Level-2 field hospital have served in the UN Mission in South Sudan since 2018, and four engineering unit rotations have operated in Abyei since 2022. Field Hospital No. 8 and Engineering Unit No. 5 are now formed and ready to rotate in from September 2026.

In June 2025, the Central Military Commission's Standing Board approved a roadmap for preparing and deploying UN peacekeeping forces for the period 2025–30 and beyond, and the Politburo endorsed the preparation of seven new unit types, including mechanised infantry/base protection, Level-2 field hospital, engineering, military/military police control, communications, transport helicopter, and airfield support. In April 2026, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successfully registered these types on the UN’s Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) at Level 1.

The immediate priority is to ready three types, including field hospital, engineering, and mechanised infantry/base protection, for UN inspection and a PCRS upgrade, with a view to deployment and other international missions when requested.

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyễn Trường Thắng, deputy minister of National Defence and head of the inter-agency task force, said the PCRS registration reaffirms UN recognition of Việt Nam’s performance and contributions. At the same time, the preparation of seven new unit types and the Ministry of Public Security’s first police unit demonstrates Việt Nam’s commitment to global and regional peace, stability and development, thus elevating the nation’s standing and prestige.

Thắng urged relevant agencies to step up research, advice and preparation in line with Party guidelines and State policies, with a focus on expanding the forms, fields, scale and forces involved. He called for the selection of quality personnel for senior positions that help shape UN peacekeeping policy and build a ready pool of personnel for the newly registered units.

Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan Văn Giang also signed a decision awarding the insignia “For the cause of UN peacekeeping” to 60 individuals for their contributions. — VNA/VNS