Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh presents the State President's Decision to Major Do Thi Hang Nga at a ceremony on October 30th, 2017.

The Defense Ministry hosted a ceremony in Hanoi on Monday to assign the task to Major Nga, who will be a staff officer in charge of overseeing military operations for 12 months.

Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh spoke at the ceremony: "The dispatch of a female officer to the UN peacekeeping mission reflects Vietnam’s gender equality policies which underscores the role of women in global activities. This is also part of Vietnam’s efforts to implement the UN’s millennium development goals."

Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre, said Vietnam is making preparation for launching the second-level field hospital in South Sudan with a total of 70 staff, including female officers.

"The UN has encouraged Vietnam to send more female officers in order to increase the numbers of female staff in UN peace keeping missions. Vietnam’s dispatch of the first female officer and plan to send 9 more to second-field hospital in South Sudan show the country’s active participation in UN peace keeping activities," Phung said.

3 years after joining UN peacekeeping operations, Vietnam has sent 20 officers on missions to Central Africa and South Sudan.