Under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, the Engineering Corps has seriously and synchronously implemented solutions to effectively perform its task of participating in United Nations peacekeeping activities, contributing to enhancing the position and prestige of the Army and the country in the international arena, protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.

Thoroughly grasping the Party's guidelines and policies, as well as the resolutions and directives of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, especially Resolution No. 806-NQ/QUTW dated 31 December 2013 and Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW dated 26 February 2024 of the Central Military Commission on international integration and foreign affairs in defence, directly the policy of deploying an Engineering unit to United Nations peacekeeping operations, the Engineering Corps has thoroughly grasped and closely and comprehensively implemented this important task. Accordingly, the Corps has promptly advised and proposed to the Ministry of National Defence on force selection and list of materials and equipment in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations. It has proactively selected and conducted personnel training to prepare for the participation early; developed training content and programmes for the Engineering unit in line with the functions and tasks of the Mission and the instructions and requirements of the United Nations. At the same time, it has actively sought support from foreign partners, and sent many officers and professional soldiers to foreign language training courses (English, French, etc.), specialised training courses in logistics, staff, heavy engineering equipment, etc.

With high political determination and scientific and appropriate solutions, since May 2022 to date, the Corps has successively deployed 03 Engineering units with thousands of tons of equipment to participate in the UN Interim Security Mission in the Abyei region. The Vietnamese Engineering units have always upheld their responsibility, successfully completing all assigned tasks, and were awarded the Medal "For the cause of United Nations Peacekeeping" by the Mission on behalf of the United Nations Security Council, contributing to spreading the good image of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers" in the international arena and embellishing the tradition of "Opening the way to victory" of the heroic Vietnamese Engineering troops in the new conditions.

Currently, besides major opportunities and chances for the country’s rapid development, we are also facing many difficulties and challenges. This requires us to continue to promote and strengthen the country's internal and external resources, in which foreign affairs in general, international integration and foreign affairs in defence in particular are a pillar. Thoroughly grasping that policy, the Engineering Corps determines that it must continue to lead and direct the implementation of the task of building strong Engineering units, on par with the task, in order to further improve the effectiveness of its participation in United Nations peacekeeping activities.

Engineering Unit Rotation 3 conducting their task

To achieve that goal, first of all, the Corps strengthens the leadership and direction of Party committees and commanders at all levels for this important task and always considers it the primarily important solution to ensure that the UN peacekeeping activities of the Engineering units are carried out properly and effectively. Engineering agencies and units throughout the army continue to thoroughly grasp the resolutions and directives of the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence on international integration and defence diplomacy, focusing on Conclusion No. 53-KL/TW, dated 28 April 2023 of the Politburo; Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW, dated 26 February 2024 of the Central Military Commission on international integration and defence diplomacy until 2030 and the following years. On that basis, they concretise into their resolutions, programmes, plans, projects with specific, scientific goals, requirements, tasks, solutions, roadmaps, and steps that are suitable for their tasks. In particular, from the results and experiences drawn from the deploying the three Engineering units, the Party Committees and commanders of agencies and units, directly the General Staff of the Corps, promote innovation in leadership, direction, and implementation in the direction of: concentration, unity, and synchronisation, focusing on promoting decentralisation of training. Pay attention to the improvement of the ability to grasp and concretise the leadership resolutions of Party Committees and Party organisations; promote the vanguard role of Party members and Youth union members in performing tasks; resolutely overcome the signs of hesitation to difficulties, and the disregard for requirements in training and preparation for peacekeeping operations.

Second, strengthen political education and thought orientation, making a strong change in awareness and responsibility for engineering troops about the task of participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations. The educational content should focus on disseminating and thoroughly informing officers and soldiers to grasp the Party's viewpoints and guidelines on international integration and defence diplomacy with an in depth analysis of the purpose, significance and importance of the task of participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations along with Vietnam's consistent goals, viewpoints and stances, and the methods of implementation according to Resolution No. 2662-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission. In addition, the Corps pays attention to settle the psychological matters of officers and soldiers, especially those directly participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations, promptly grasping and resolving arising problems to yield a solidarity and unity in the entire force, making them unafraid of sacrifice and hardship, and determined to complete all assigned tasks successfully.

Third, innovate and improve the quality of training and selection of the Engineering Unit for UN peacekeeping operations. The Engineering Unit participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations conduct international missions, so the requirements are very high, requiring each officer and soldier to be truly professional, have good health, proficient in foreign language skills and able to work independently as well as cooperation in handling situations according to international practices and codes of conduct. Therefore, in order to meet the requirements and tasks, based on the training experience and operations of the three deployed engineering units, the Corps continues to closely coordinate with agencies and units to promptly adjust the content, programmes and conduct training on contents relevant to the subjects and areas of operation in the Abyei area, UNISFA Mission.

In training, the units should adhere to the motto of “basic, practical, thorough, specialised”. Training should be comprehensive, but focalised and relevant to the requirements and tasks of the Missions. As the engineering troops have to work independently in the multinational working environment, harsh terrain and weather conditions and complex political security situation in the area, in order to successfully complete the task, the Corps requires units to strengthen training to improve their foreign language proficiency, physical strength, international communication skills, knowledge about the country, people and culture of the host country. To make it highly effective, together with the experience shared by some foreign partners in the international seminars on the United Nations Peacekeeping operations, the Corps actively holds training, drills and exercises on United Nations peacekeeping activity; conducts surveys, builds and makes plan of the training ground system as well as compiles material for peacekeeping training work.

Fourth, conduct good supply work for the Engineering Unit participating in UN peacekeeping. To fulfil this task well, the work of supplying for the Engineering Unit must be carefully prepared right in Vietnam. Accordingly, agencies and units need to proactively grasp the situation, analyse, evaluate, and accurately forecast the situation related to the supplying work in the fields of: staff, politics, logistics, and technique. Proactively coordinate with relevant agencies and units to acquire goods, equipment and supplies, serving the Engineering Unit effectively in its UN peacekeeping operations. The work of supplying must be truly suitable to the actual conditions of the area where tasks are performed, promoting the full effectiveness and usability in the local weather and geological conditions.

Last but not least, the Corps continues to direct the 3rd Engineer Unit currently conducting their tasks at the United Nations Interim Security Mission in the Abyei region to actively participate in humanitarian activities, support the lives of indigenous people as building transportation systems and civil works, protecting the environment, and conducting other community activities. They are also required to maintain close relations with leaders and agencies of the Mission, friendly peacekeeping forces, and especially local authorities and people; promptly inform their activities to press agencies, contributing to spreading the beautiful image of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers", the Vietnamese blue beret engineer soldiers to the people at home and international friends, enhancing the "soft power" of the nation, protecting the Fatherland early and from afar by peaceful means.

Major General TRAN TRUNG HOA, Commander of the Corps