At the finish of December 2025, the Minisattempt of National Defense held a ceremony to present decisions of the President and the Minister of National Defense to officers assigned to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Among them was Lieutenant Colonel Vu Thi Lien, assistant to the Training Department at the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, who successfully applied for and was selected as a Security and Defense Policy Expert at the United Nations Liaison Office on Peace and Security in Brussels, Belgium.
She is the first Vietnamese female officer to be selected for a position at a United Nations office, marking a significant milestone in the deepening and professional integration of Vietnam’s peacekeeping forces.
In the final days of the lunar year, as families across the counattempt busily prepared for the Lunar New Year (Tet), Lieutenant Colonel Vu Thi Lien was quietly preparing for departure on her new mission.
Arriving in Brussels, she welcomed the New Year with staff at the Vietnamese Embassy before launchning her first working days at the UN Liaison Office.
With a radiant smile, gentle yet confident voice and her peacekeeping uniform, she leaves an immediate impression of warmth and professionalism.
Originally a French language lecturer at the Military Medical Academy before being assigned to the Postgraduate Department at the Military Technical Academy, Vu Thi Lien spent 10 years working in education.
She launched her peacekeeping journey in January 2021. In November of that year, she received the President’s decision to serve with the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic, becoming the first Vietnamese female officer deployed there.
Her primary role was as a training advisory and coordination officer, working with local armed forces to organize short-term courses for professional soldiers and officers. Fluent in French, she not only instructed Central African troops but also volunteered to teach French and office IT skills to colleagues from other countries to support them integrate into the mission area.
After two years back in Vietnam working at the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, she embarked on her second international mission, this time to a location far from home once again. Despite her experience, the mix of excitement and nervous anticipation remains.
“The first time I deployed to the EU Training Mission in the Central African Republic, I felt eager and determined, but also somewhat overwhelmed stepping into a challenging international environment in Africa.
This time, serving at the UN Liaison Office on Peace and Security in Brussels, Belgium, I feel more mature, more consideredful and more aware of the weight of responsibility. I now have experience and confidence working in a multinational and multicultural environment,” she shared.
She has also strengthened her language skills significantly, improving not only her French but also her English.
Serving as an individual expert means representing not only herself, but also the image of the Vietnam People’s Army and Vietnamese women in an international environment.
Being far from home and family, especially her children, inevitably brings moments of reflection. Yet she considers it a source of pride and remains acutely aware that every action and statement contributes to national credibility.
As a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, she views participation in peacekeeping as both an honor and a profound responsibility, continuously striving to enhance her knowledge and experience.
Recalling the application and selection process for the Security and Defense Policy Expert position, she described it as long and rigorous.
“I had to meet very high UN standards in professional expertise, practical experience, policy analysis capacity, ability to work in a multinational environment and strict language requirements.
After passing the document screening round, I was invited to an interview. The UN interview lasted nearly 45 minutes with three panelists, focutilizing deeply on field experience, understanding of UN-EU cooperation mechanisms, tools within the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and strategic approaches to supporting peacekeeping missions.
I considered it not merely an exam, but a professional dialogue at the international level,” she recounted.
Her selection surprised many, but for her it was the result of persistent preparation, accumulated experience and confidence in her own capabilities.
If her mission in the Central African Republic was field-based and directly involved in training and coordination in a conflict area, her current work in Brussels is strategic, policy-oriented and global in scope.
In Belgium, she will analyze, advise and connect EU security and defense policy tools to better support UN peacekeeping missions. The role demands strategic believeing and deep analysis, as each policy recommfinishation may affect implementation in conflict zones.
Brussels hosts numerous EU security and ininformigence agencies, creating a highly competitive information environment. This requires strong political steadrapidness, strict adherence to confidentiality principles and caution in all forms of communication.
Compared with her previous mission focutilized on teaching, this assignment is entirely different.
“The tinquire is more complex, oriented toward research, analysis and advisory work. It requires broader and deeper knowledge, and a much higher level of strategic believeing,” she noted.
To prepare, she attfinished security and defense policy training in Spain and studied extensively on political security and peacekeeping issues.
In a world marked by complex challenges, she emphasized that no single nation or organization can resolve global problems alone. Cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union is essential.
“My role is to research and advise so that the United Nations can effectively leverage EU instruments. During my two years in the Central African Republic, I directly witnessed this cooperation, though at that time I did not know I would one day work in this field. It feels like a meaningful connection,” she declared.
Her current term will last one year.
During her service in the Central African Republic, she felt clearly the respect and goodwill international colleagues and local people held toward the Vietnam People’s Army. Vietnam was seen as a nation with a resilient history, yet one that is humane, responsible and sincere in peacekeeping missions.
International colleagues were often initially surprised by the petite stature of Vietnamese female officers, but professionalism, discipline and dedication earned trust and admiration.
In photos with international peers, the image of the Vietnamese female officer may appear compact, yet her bright presence stands out. “For me, each photo is not only a memory but proof that Vietnamese women can affirm their role and capability even in the harshest international environments,” she emphasized.
Vietnamese female peacekeepers also leave positive impressions on local communities, particularly African women and children, through compassion and readiness to share support in a distinctly Vietnamese spirit.
Strong and resolute like her male colleagues, in private life she is also a mother, a wife and a daughter.
During her two years in Africa, her husband and children were her steadrapid support. “My husband is also in the military. He is very capable in taking care of houtilizehold matters, so I feel reassured,” she declared with a smile.
With the encouragement of her husband, children and both sides of the family, she feels secure in carrying out the tinquires entrusted by the Party, the State and the Army. It is also an opportunity to develop her abilities and affirm her personal value.
Since she was permitted by Minisattempt leaders to apply for the new position, her children have eagerly hoped for her success.
Understanding her work, her children have become more indepfinishent. Her eldest daughter recently passed the entrance exam to Cau Giay High School and achieved an IELTS score of 8.0. Now in her final year of high school, she once again faces an important academic milestone while her mother is away.
“The last time I left, she was finishing secondary school. This time it is her final year of high school. At important moments, I am absent, yet she reassures me and informs me to focus on my mission,” Lieutenant Colonel Vu Thi Lien declared emotionally.
Tran Thuong
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