Totem staff review

Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, who is also Head of the MND’s Steering Committee on Vietnam’s Participation in U.N. Peacekeeping Operations, chaired the event. According to the decision, Major Nguyen Van Phong, assistant at the Division of Political Affairs of Brigade 229 under the Engineering Corps, will work as a military observer at the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Assigning tasks to the officer, Sr. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien asked him to promote the spirit of pro-activeness, self-reliance, overcoming difficulties, being flexible and creative; promptly integrate into the international environment and demonstrate his capability while observing military discipline, U.N. regulations and the host country’s laws, and others. According to Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VNDPKO), Major Phong participated in various … [Read more...] about One more Vietnamese officer taking on peacekeeping duties

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao, who is also head of Vietnam's Delegation to the E.U., made the statement at a workshop to review the relations between ASEAN and E.U. over the last four decades in Brussels on March 21. Speaking on behalf of ASEAN at the discussion on trade cooperation, Thao highlighted the great potential for the two sides to further step up trade cooperation, which he said is a driver of the ASEAN - E.U. relations. According to the diplomat, the two sides are now the third largest trade partners of each other. They have mutual complementarity in key export products, and at the same time have the needs and policies to diversify supply chains. The E.U. is also the second biggest foreign investor in ASEAN with more than 380 billion EUR invested in ASEAN as of 2021. He proposed that the two sides should set up a free trade agreement (FTA) on the basis of bilateral FTAs that the E.U. has signed with ASEAN member nations, including Vietnam. The … [Read more...] about Vietnam calls for stronger ASEAN – E.U. relations