"The ministry aims to guarantee better policies, benefits and support for women to do their jobs effectively and without worries," Hoang Xuan Chien, deputy minister of defense, said at an online meeting regarding the role of women and Covid-19 prevention in peacekeeping activities on Thursday.

Hoang Kim Phung, head of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, said the role of women in conflict resolution and post-war consequence neutralization often provides a positive influence and better chance of success compared to male counterparts.

Caitlin Wiesen, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) representative in Vietnam, said women participating in UN peacekeeping operations not only shows gender equality, but also helps missions progress smoothly among diverse communities. Vietnam is among the countries with the highest rate of female participation in UN peacekeeping activities, she added.

The country is maintaining the rate of three female personnel per 16 officers currently engaged in missions, accounting for around 19 percent.

Vietnam has officially participated in UN peacekeeping operations since 2014, but not until January 2018 did a female officer join peacekeeping missions in South Sudan. In October 2018, a field hospital was erected for the UN mission in South Sudan to include 10 Vietnamese female officers among its 63 personnel. A second field hospital was erected in November last year to replace the former, with Vietnam still maintaining the same female participation rate.