Vietnam expands UN peacekeeping role with 7 new unit types

The announcement was made at an inter-agency task force conference organized by the ministry in Hanoi on Wednesday to review Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

The conference was chaired by Deputy Minister of National Defense Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, head of the inter-agency task force and the defense ministry’s steering committee for participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Also attending the conference was Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Speaking at the conference, Major General Pham Manh Thang, director of the ministry’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said that despite global uncertainties, Vietnam has maintained a proactive and systematic approach to personnel preparation, training, and international cooperation.

He said Vietnam successfully registered seven new unit types on the United Nations Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) in April 2026 and received Level 1 recognition.

The newly registered units belong to the following categories: mechanized infantry/base protection, Level-2 field hospitals, sappers, military police, communications, transport helicopters, and airport support.

The defense ministry said it is prioritizing preparations for three units, a Level-2 field hospital, a sapper unit, and a mechanized infantry/base protection unit, ahead of upcoming UN inspections and PCRS capability upgrades.

The units are expected to be ready for deployment to UN peacekeeping missions and other international assignments when required.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security is preparing Peacekeeping Police Unit No. 1, which has already received Level 3 recognition from the United Nations and is ready for deployment.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Minister Thang commended participating forces for overcoming difficulties and fulfilling assigned duties.

He said the defense ministry’s preparations for the seven new unit types, along with Peacekeeping Police Unit No. 1 of the public security ministry, reaffirm Vietnam’s commitment to promoting peace, stability, and development regionally and globally.

He also urged agencies and units to strengthen research and advisory efforts, proactively prepare high-quality personnel, expand the scale and scope of participation in UN peacekeeping operations, and enhance international cooperation to mobilize support resources and improve deployment capacity in the coming years.

At the conference, the defense ministry awarded commemorative medals titled ‘For the Cause of United Nations Peacekeeping’ to 60 individuals.

According to the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Vietnam has so far deployed 1,358 officers and professional military personnel to UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Abyei Area, the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic, the UN headquarters in New York, and the UN Liaison Office in Belgium.

Vietnam has also sent 181 officers on individual assignments, along with seven rotations of Level-2 field hospitals and four rotations of sapper units, to UN peacekeeping missions.

The United Nations has praised Vietnam for maintaining a female participation rate of nearly 16 percent in peacekeeping operations, higher than the 6-8 percent average among troop-contributing countries.