The activities have helped enhance solidarity among the UN peacekeeping units at UNISFA as well as between them and residents in the Abyei Area, according to the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations under the Ministry of National Defence.

Members of Engineering Unit Rotation 2 of Vietnam pose for a group photo before departing for UNISFA in August 2023.

Major Nguyen Mau Vu, Commissar of the Engineering Unit, said that celebrating major anniversaries and Tet is among important activities the unit has made plans on since they assumed duties at UNISFA. In particular, the recent official recognition of the Lunar New Year as a UN floating holiday holds great significance for peacekeepers like them who often celebrate Tet far away from their families.

To mark the Year of the Dragon 2024, Engineering Unit Rotation 2 has built detailed plans on each activity like making “chung” cakes – a signature dish of Tet, holding room decoration and cooking competitions, planting the “neu” pole – another symbol of Tet, and organising folk games.

The unit has also organised a volleyball exchange with residents in Abyei, presented gifts to locals, and invited them to try traditional dishes of Vietnam.

The activities aim to help the “blue beret” soldiers celebrate a merrier New Year festival besides their comrades, support their spiritual life, and introduce the Vietnamese culture to locals, Vu said.

However, the entire unit hasn’t neglected their duties, including preparing plans to protect security and safety for their base amid complex and unpredictable developments in Abyei, the officer added.

On behalf of the unit, he wished Vietnamese people nationwide and abroad good health, joy, happiness, and good luck in the New Year.

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Source: VNA