This is the first time Vietnam has had a training course in the field of peacekeeping (PKO) recognized by the United Nations as meeting standards, marking an important step in the development of the training capacity and international integration of the Vietnam PKO force.
On March 1, 2026, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in charge of PKO activities signed a certificate recognizing the UNSOC training course organized by the Vietnam PKO Department as meeting the pre-implementation training standards of the United Nations.
Following that, on March 11, 2026, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Mr. Harinder Sood - Head of the Integrated Training Agency (ITS), under the United Nations Peace Operations Department (DPO), directly awarded the certificate to the Vietnamese side through Colonel Nguyen Duc Quan - Vietnamese Military Attaché to the United Nations.
The United Nations' recognition of Vietnam's UNSOC course is of particular importance, because this is the first time since Vietnam participated in UN PKO activities that a training course organized by Vietnam has been recognized as meeting international standards.
This is a milestone marking the qualitative development in Vietnam's PKO training organization capacity, affirming that Vietnam's professional qualifications, training methods and curriculum system have fully met United Nations standards.
According to statistics from the United Nations, currently there are about 50 countries in the world with training courses recognized as meeting standards, of which the Asia-Pacific region has 14 countries and Southeast Asia has 4 countries. Vietnam's joining this group of countries shows that Vietnam's PKO training capacity has gradually approached international standards.
The UNSOC training course in 2026 is held from January 3 to January 30, 2026 at the headquarters of the Vietnam PKO with the participation of 41 trainees from Vietnam and many other countries.
The course received support from Canada through the Military Training Cooperation Program (MTCP). The teaching staff of the course are Vietnamese officers who have practical experience at UN PKO missions and are well-trained in pedagogical skills.
The appraisal results of the United Nations Integrated Training Agency showed that the UNSOC course of the Vietnam PKO Department fully meets the UN training standards. Experts highly appreciated the preparation of the training program, the systematically built training document system, scientific training organization methods and a team of lecturers with rich practical experience.
The success of the UNSOC course not only affirms the training organization capacity of the Vietnam PKO Department but also contributes to enhancing Vietnam's prestige and position in the field of UN PKO.
Based on the success of the UNSOC course, in the coming time, the Vietnam PKO Department will continue to research, develop and organize other training courses with potential to be recognized by the United Nations as meeting standards such as the Comprehensive Civilian Protection Training Course, the United Nations Military Observer Officer Training Course and some other specialized training programs.
