Art performance at the programme (Photo: VNA)  

Blue-beret Vietnamese officers and soldiers who are on duties in UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan, Abyei on the border of South Sudan and Sudan, the Central African Republic, and at the UN Headquarters in New York, joined warm moments with their comrades and relatives at home during an online exchange programme on January 15, celebrating the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival.

Jointly organised by the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VDPO) under the Ministry of National Defence, and the Military Broadcasting and Television Centre under the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), the programme aimed to promote Vietnam’s significant achievements in peacekeeping operations in 2024.

It also served to boost the morale of the peacekeepers who are celebrating Tet far from home, while highlighting Vietnam’s growing proactivity in preparing peacekeeping forces, ready to deploy for missions, both from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security.

Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the VPA's General Staff, Deputy Head of the Intersectoral Working Group, and Deputy Head of the Ministry of National Defence’s Steering Committee on Participation in UN Peacekeeping Operations, extended New Year wishes to the officers and soldiers, applauding them for tireless efforts in performing their duties.

The blue-beret force has played a significant role in spreading the image of the Uncle Ho's soldiers and the People's Public Security of Vietnam to international friends, and showcased the humane spirit of the Vietnamese people, he stressed.

Tan appreciated contributions and support from international partners in recent times for Vietnam's peacekeeping force, expressing his hope that international organidations and friends, and countries around the world will create the best conditions for Vietnamese peacekeepers to accomplish their mission./.