(VOVworld) - The Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre under the Ministry of Defence began the construction of its headquarters in Thach That district, Hanoi on Thursday.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the Center's headquarters (Photo: qdnd.vn)

The first phase of the project will be constructed at a total cost of more than 9.85 million USD and is expected to be operational by 2017. It includes an administrative building, a meeting hall, a lecture hall, a training centre for army medical corps, and residential halls for staff, lecturers and military students.
It will serve as a centre not only for counselling and training personnel and forces for Vietnam to join UN peacekeeping missions but also for training corps for humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lieutenant General Le Chiem, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam’s People’s Army, said the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre was established in May last year, representing Vietnam as an active member of the international community in the global effort for peace, cooperation, stability and development.