VNMAC, UNDP Hold Training Course on UXO Actions for Military Officials

The Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) and the UN Development Program (UNDP) with the support of the South Korean government, held a training course on bomb and mine operations for officials of the Ministry of National Defense in Hanoi on July 9. The training contents have been built by the UNDP and the VNMAC along top practice methods applied in technical support projects across the world, with less focus on theory and maximum time spent practicing, VNMAC Vice General Director Nguyen Van Nghiep said. Trainees will be divided to groups of ten for tasks practicing with modern equipment and tools. The course is expected to provide a new approach through the globally-successful lessons, offering trainees insight into bomb and mine clearance. It draws lecturers with 20-30 years of experience, along with speakers from many international organizations. As part of a cooperation project between Vietnam and South Korea on coping with the consequences of bombs and mines, the project will be implemented over three years until 2020 in the central provinces of Quang Binh and Binh Dinh, where about 30%-40% of land area is still polluted by bombs and mines left by the war. Nil Chirstensen from the UNDP said that the program has held bomb and mine action projects in 20 countries, with an aim to improve the skills and capacity of agencies in making plans, and defining prioritized bomb and mine actions. (Vietnam Plus; Nhan Dan - The People Jul 9)