Staff of Vietnam’s Level-2 field Hospital No. 1 receive medals of honour for their dedication to the United Nations Peacekeeping Career. (Photo: qdnd.vn)

As reported by the People’s Army Newspaper, in the afternoon of November 14 (Vietnam time), the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the UN Mission in South Sudan held a medal parade ceremony in Bentiu to grant Vietnamese peacekeepers the medals, in recognition of their dedicated service and contribution to the mission.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quang Phuong, who is also Deputy Chairman of the General Political Department of the Vietnamese People's Army, congratulated and praised the efforts and achievements by staff at the hospital – the first member of the Vietnam People's Army to participate in UN peace keeping activities and receive the UN's noble rewards.

Phuong emphasised that, after sending officers to the two UN missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic, in October 2018, Vietnam continued to dispatch its Level-2 field Hospital No. 1 to Bentiu to participate in UN peacekeeping activities. Over the past year, the hospital staff have made great efforts and achieved encouraging achievements in the health care for UN staff and employees at Bentiu camp, winning the trust from the mission’s leaders and their international colleagues.

"These efforts show that Vietnam is a responsible member of the UN, and also reflects the sentiment of the Vietnamese people towards the people in South Sudan," Phuong said, while asking for more support from the mission and UN agencies in assisting Vietnam's hospital, as well as creating favourable conditions for Vietnam to prepare for the presence of its second level-2 field hospital in South Sudan.

Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, Commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan, thanked the Vietnamese experts for their professionalism and enthusiasm in providing health care to UN staff as well as locals upon request.

At the event, Phuong and Tinaika joined other leaders to present the medals for the Vietnamese hospital staff. In addition, the hospital and its four outstanding members also received the Certificates of Commendation from the commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence on November 13 held a send-off ceremony for the second Level-2 Field Hospital which will participate in the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. Nhan Dan

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