Malaysia Strengthens Commitment To UN Peacekeeping Missions

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia continues to strengthen its commitment to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, including through capacity building, specialised training and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the commitment was expressed during his meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who is currently in Malaysia as part of a regional visit to Asia.

“In this meeting, the UN expressed appreciation for Malaysia’s active role in peacekeeping missions, with the involvement of more than 40,000 personnel in over 38 missions worldwide since 1960,” he posted on Facebook today.

Mohamed Khaled said discussions also focused on the role and contributions Malaysia could make towards the future direction of UN peacekeeping operations, in line with the country’s pledge in organising training and capacity development, particularly in the areas of Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Mobile Training Teams.

He said Malaysia is also committed to ensuring that the Malaysian Peacekeeping Centre continues to serve as a UN-accredited training centre for various programmes and capacity development activities, while further strengthening the country’s commitment to the WPS agenda.

“I also stressed the importance of ensuring that the safety and welfare of the MALBATT 850-13 personnel in southern Lebanon continue to receive serious attention from the UN, in addition to ensuring that the withdrawal process of the final MALBATT 850-13 battalion under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission is carried out properly and systematically,” he said.

Also present at the meeting were Chief of Defence Force Gen Datuk Seri Malek Razak Sulaiman and Joint Forces Commander Lt Gen Datuk Tengku Muhammad Fauzi Tengku Ibrahim.

-- BERNAMA