Major General Pham Manh Thang, Head of the Peacekeeping Department and Brigadier-General Carol Potvin, Deputy Director General for Continental Defense Policy pose for a photo. (Photo: VOV)

The document was inked by Major General Pham Manh Thang, Head of the Peacekeeping Department, who’s on an official visit to Canada, and Brigadier-General Carol Potvin, Deputy Director General for Continental Defence Policy.

As part of the cooperation framework, Vietnam and Canada will implement exchanges of delegations at various levels and cooperate in training and capacity-building. Canada will also provide equipment to strengthen Vietnam’s capacity in training and help the Vietnam People’s Army enhance its personnel’s expertise in UN peacekeeping.

Brigadier-General Potvin said, "We know peacekeeping is a priority. We want to support cooperation in this area. I'm very impressed with Vietnam's support to peacekeeping operations. I know since 2014, you have deployed a thousand soldiers on various missions with good results. And you have a rate of 20% of female peacekeepers on your usual deployment which is very impressive."

The deal builds on the Memorandum of Understanding on UN peacekeeping signed between Vietnam and Canada in 2023. It also serves to reinforce the two countries’ commitment to strengthen the their defense relations at the Vietnam-Canada Defense Policy Dialogue last month.