Human trial

Vietnamese officers are doing their bit for peace by working in some of the harshest living environments on Earth

On April 9, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) officially granted a decision of the state president to Major Nguyen Phuc Dong from the ministry’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Dong will head to the United States to work for the 2021-2023 tenure at the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The DPO is charged with the planning, preparation, management, and direction of UN peacekeeping operations.

Dong is the third Vietnamese military officer admitted into the DPO, where he will work as a military trainer. The first was Lieutenant Colonel Luong Truong Vinh, who was also admitted to the DPO to work as a general planner, while the second – Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Huong – is a planning advisor.

Elsewhere, at the launch in Ho Chi Minh City of the Level-2 Field Hospital (No.3) two weeks ago, dental technician Major Bui Thi Xoa spoke of her duty to UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, a nation she has already visited once.

In the first 14-month period in South Sudan, Xoa and her colleagues braved harsh weather conditions and a lack of water and food, as well as medical equipment – the same conditions badly affecting the livelihoods of local people there.

“We have had to overcome all of these difficulties. We grew our own vegetables and had to be very careful not to catch any diseases,” Xoa said. “For this second time, I feel more confident when it comes to South Sudan. My colleagues and I will do our best to accomplish all duties that the Party, the government, and the Vietnamese people have assigned.”

The Level-2 Field Hospital (No.3) was established in March 2020 with 70 staff, 18 of whom will travel to South Sudan for the second time.

Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations is a major policy of the Party and state and also a step towards realising the country’s policy of intensive and comprehensive integration into the world.

According to the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, between June 2014 and the end of 2020, Vietnam sent 179 officers and employees from the MoD to UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic and to UN headquarters in New York. They consisted of 53 officers deployed individually and 126 doctors and medical workers deployed at level-2 field hospitals. Vietnam is also preparing a team of over 300 sappers to join UN peacekeeping operations this year.

Vietnam’s contributions to UN peacekeeping activities have been acknowledged by the international community, UN organisations, and international and non-governmental organisations in the host countries.

Vietnam’s active participation in UN peacekeeping operations has helped assert the Party and state’s foreign policy of multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, independence, self-reliance, and respect for the UN’s goals and principles, thereby contributing to the building of sustainable peace.

Vietnamese officers have been praised for their professionalism, disciplines, dependability, and adaptability. The UN also selected Vietnam as the first training centre for international peacekeeping activities in Southeast Asia.

Last November, the 14th-tenure of the National Assembly adopted Resolution No.130/2020/QH14 on participation in UN peacekeeping forces, which will take effect on July 1.

The prime minister has issued an implementation plan that identifies the responsibilities of and assigns tasks to ministries and government agencies to ensure that the resolution will be carried out in a timely, concerted, uniform, and effective manner.

Lieutenant colonel Nguyen Thi Lien I was the first Vietnamese military female officer to have worked as a training advisor at the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). On March 12, I returned to Vietnam after a prolonged stay due to the pandemic. My main task is to work with colleagues to organise training courses on improving new skills for new staff at MINUSCA. Undertaking the duty in June 2019, my colleagues and I have faced numerous difficulties, especially in the context of the pandemic. The country is very weak in infrastructure development, coupled with a grave lack of medical equipment and tools and limited awareness of people. In order to cope with the pandemic, we at MINUSCA always paid due attention to protecting our health via enjoying proper and nutritious foods. Due to unfavourable weather conditions, we have had to drink much water and eat many vegetables cultivated by ourselves. We have always encouraged one another to stay optimistic and implemented safe hygienic measures to prevent community contamination. Meanwhile, there is no habit among local residents of wearing masks. We still wore masks but covered our faces with larger handkerchiefs in order to avoid discrimination from locals. From the fact that Vietnam has been doing a very good job in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, I came to the thought that the face mask is a very effective shield and an “amulet” during the pandemic times in a nation very poor in medical equipment. To realise my idea, I went to a local’s home to hire a sewing machine, and then went to the market to buy cloth and elastic bands. I selected cloth with colourful patterns which suited locals’ traditional taste. After working hours at MINUSCA, I found myself making face masks. Being an unprofessional needlewoman, initially I could not make many products. However, day after day the number of masks gradually increased, while the number of COVID-19 victims also ascended. By that point, the country’s government under consultancy of MINUSCA issued a directive ordering all people throughout the nation to wear masks at public places from May last year. Around 800 masks I made personally were then presented to locals and MINUSCA staff. They have become a very significant gift in the context of urgent prevention and fighting against the pandemic in such a poor nation. Major NGUYEN PHUC DONG When I was a child, I always dreamt of becoming a military officer. In 2004, I passed the examination into the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Military Academy of Logistics. In 2009, with my good study record, I became a lecturer at the academy. After a time, I was sent to the United States to study. With big aspirations to make more contributions to the army and work in an international environment, in 2007, I was admitted to work at the MoD’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations. After one year of working here, I was selected to become one of two military officers to work as peacekeeper in South Sudan in 2018. The day I set off for South Sudan was also Vietnamese Teachers’ Day. My wife is an English teacher, and I understood that my wife would have to work hard to feed the family. My first child was only five and the second was only six months old at that time. South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world as it declared independence in 2011. Its political situation remains unstable with many conflicts and unfavourable weather conditions. Though before going there, I had studied the country very carefully, I was still surprised when I arrived. South Sudan was characterised with underdeveloped infrastructure and shabby houses of the local residents whose lives depended on support from the United Nations. Almost all children have no schooling and suffer from malnutrition, while the nation is completely undermined by civil wars. The main duty of UN peacekeepers is to protect civilians, create a favourable environment for humanitarian assistance, supervise and inspect human rights violations, and support the implementation of peace processes. During my time in South Sudan, I partook in days-long patrols by air, by road, and by waterway, of hundreds of kilometres a day. In many cases, the patrols faced lots of difficulties because many other forces showed no cooperation and even caused great difficulties to our work. Danger was always on the watch. For example, one month before I came to South Sudan, one comrade had been shot and made the ultimate sacrifice while on duty. However, in defiance of the dangers and difficulties, my colleagues and I will not be deterred, and we will give it our best to accomplish the tasks that we have been assigned in order to keep peace in the world.

Seminar participants learn about new technologies used in the technical infrastructure sector on Tuesday in HCM City. — Photo sggp.org.vn

Digital transformation has become a critical need for technical infrastructure enterprises to survive in the fourth industrial revolution, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, speakers said at a seminar on Tuesday in HCM City.

Nguyen Van Dang, director of the Gia Dinh Water Supply Joint-Stock Company under the Saigon Water Corporation (SAWACO), said that digital technologies improve administrative methods and production activities, helping to better serve customers.

The water supply sector, for example, uses GIS (Geographic Information System) technology for data sharing among units. This helps to reduce leakage and improve water supply management, with the goal of supplying clean water to all urban residents in Viet Nam.

The GIS technology also uses virtual assistants to handle repetitive questions and collect data from customers. It provides information on mangrove forecasting to farmers via telephone, and analyses water levels to help scientists assess the water situation during different seasons of the year.

“To successfully implement digital transformation, enterprises must improve the quality of human resources, which will help productivity and thus enhance competitiveness,” Dang said.

“This success depends heavily on the determination of all participants involved, especially the leaders of the company,” he added.

Tran Quang Minh, general director of SAWACO, said that digital transformation has a far-reaching impact, especially in the water supply sector. It can reduce the time to install water metres, increase labour productivity, save costs, and better monitor the water quality at source.

Vo Thi Trung Trinh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Information and Communications, said that technical infrastructure businesses need access to preferential loans to implement digital transformation.

She said the city plans to provide professional training about digital transformation to businesses.

The city will also promote the use of shared databases to share data with industries and sectors related to technical infrastructure, such as electricity and water supply, to better serve customers.

HCM City has set a target by 2025 that the city’s digital economy will contribute about 25 per cent of its GDP, she added.

A 2019 report by the US-based McKinsey Global Institute showed that in the construction industry, digital transformation could increase productivity by 14-15 per cent and reduce costs by 4-6 per cent.

Viet Nam last year began its national digital transformation programme focused on “a digital government, digital economy and digital society”.

Under the programme by 2030, the country will adopt new technologies and models, completely overhaul the way the Government operates, update business operations, change the work style of citizens, and create a safe, secure and humane digital environment.

The digital economy is projected to produce 20 per cent of the country’s GDP in the near future, with at least 10 per cent of each economic sector part of the digital economy, while annual labor productivity will likely increase at least 7 per cent.

Experts said the country is set to be among the top 50 countries in the information and communication technology development index within the next five years.

The workshop was organised by the Gia Dinh Water Supply Joint Stock Company under SAWACO. — VNS

‘Vaccine passport’ is seen as an effective strategy to recover international tourism service, however it’s needed to balance the benefit on the nation and how it affects to human.

Lack of concrete regulations is hampering Vietnam from reopening its borders to foreign tourists despite the country has successfully contained the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Medical examination for passengers at Noi Ba international airport. Photos: Pham Hung

The comment was released by Tran Trong Kien, Chairman of the National Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), when the country’s tourism sector is seen sluggish while some countries, including Thailand, are pushing ahead either with real vaccine passport or allowing vaccinated visitors to skip quarantine.

Kien told Hanoitimes that the state management agencies need to set up a roadmap and criteria to receive international guests as well as building standards on Covid-19 vaccination and examination before flights and after entering Vietnam.

He said Maldives has successfully reopened its door to travel, making a fruitful tourism season. In this nation of islands, visitors are required to book air tickets and make test of PCR 72 hours before departure.

“The reopening of borders to international travel and tourism will not only need efforts from business community, but also require policymakers to build concrete regulations – an essential move for businesses,” Kien said.

Insiders have said that the global economy has declined in 2020, but the Vietnam’s economy still grew 2.4% thanks to its successful control of Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s growth rate is predicted to reach 6.5% this year – this figure has lured foreign firms to travel the country while seeking opportunities to develop business.

Many travel agencies have recently organized programs to bring foreign investors and experts to the country under the form of charter flight, an unscheduled flight that is not part of a regular airline routing, in which people rent the entire aircraft and can determine departure/arrival locations and times.

Vietravel has rented the whole flight KE 683 of Korean Air to carry leading experts and senior managers from the UK, Sweden, Poland, German, Canada, the US and Spain to Vietnam. Meanwhile, the WorldTrans has brought Oversea Vietnamese businesspeople from Dallas, a city in the US state of Texas.

Some other companies, including Viet Foot Travel, Flamingo Redtour and Sun Smile Travel, have recently offered a package of tourism products targeting mainland China and its Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

Director of Viet Foot Travel Pham Duy Nghia told Hanoitimes that in comparison with the organization of domestic tours, bringing foreign experts into Vietnam makes higher profit.

He said in 2019, the tourism industry accounted for 12% of the country’s GDP, in which the volume of international visitors stood at only 17% but occupied over 50% of revenue – thanks to the fact that each foreign visitor spent US$673 on average while domestic visitor only $61.

“A foreign expert entering Vietnam helps the country make a profit ten times higher than that of domestic one. The source of foreign visitors will save the tourism businesses when the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet,” Nghia said.

General Director of Flamingo Redtours Travel Company Nguyen Cong Hoan said although travel companies have set up scenarios to receive international tourists after the Covid-19 pandemic is controlled, what these businesses need most right now is a set of standards guiding businesses to welcome international visitors and ensuring safety, but not too strict “because if visitors are not comfortable, they do not want to come to Vietnam,” Hoan said.

International guests make check-in proceedures at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi.

‘Vaccine passport’ – an effective strategy?

Vietnam is carefully studying ‘vaccine passport’ – a strategy has been seen as the most effective way to recover international tourism service in many countries over the world.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong, the issue of ‘vaccine passport’ has been discussed by policymakers but decision has not been given “because we need to balance the benefit on the nation and how it affects to human.”

“The benefit is to open door to economic growth while the risk is that we might still get infected in the community. This is not a simple issue so we must take it step by step,” Cuong said.

Among the recent entries to Vietnam, a number of people has already had a ‘vaccine passport’. However, the country has not had any changes in measures of pandemic prevention and control and isolation methods to vaccinated people.

According to current regulations, people with ‘vaccine passport’, which certificates two doses of Covid-19 vaccine, still have to be isolated for 14 days and take two tests as usual.

Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health Dang Quang Tan said that the entry and exit using ‘vaccine passport’ need to have QR codes to confirm their certification of vaccination or present documents relevant to Covid-19 vaccination from the competent authority of their country or territory.

He said the pandemic in Vietnam has been well controlled, making a very low infection rate. However, the rate of vaccinated people is not high while the community immunity is low, existing the risk of infection and outbreaks when people with Covid-19 virus enter the country.

“The virus is constantly mutated, so vaccines may be ineffective or less effective against new variants. The protective effect of vaccines is also very different, ranging from 66 – 96%, so there is still risks of infection and transmission.

In addition, the duration of immunity is not so clear that it is difficult to determine the application of ‘vaccine passport’ validity.”

Tran Dac Phu, a senior advisor at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, said Vietnam could combine the application of ‘vaccine passport’ and SARS-CoV-2 negative test result to ease the isolation period.

He said the Vietnam’s number of vaccinated people is not as high as that of many countries but it has effectively applied preventive measures. “Therefore, it is needed to continue such measures, especially 5Ks (in Vietnamese) Khau trang (facemask)- Khu khuan (disinfection) – Khoang cach (distance) – Khong tu tap (no gathering) – Khai bao y te (health declaration) to live safely with the coronavirus in the new normal.