Hanoi (VNA) – The Defence Ministry held a pressconference in Hanoi on December 27 to announce outstanding results in buildingthe Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) in accordance with the Party’s resolutions andconclusions.

Col. Nguyen Van Tan, deputy head of the Department ofPersonnel under the VPA’s General Staff, said over the past years, the CentralMilitary Commission and the ministry have strictly followed the Party, Stateand National Assembly’s resolutions, conclusions and plans with high politicaldetermination, focusing on Resolution No.18/NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 by the12th Party Central Committee on continuing to renovate the political system for more streamlined andeffective apparatus, a scheme on adjusting the VPA organisation for the2016-2021 period, and a project on restructuring and reforming the operation ofthe army businesses till 2020.

As a result, theministry has cut nearly 3,000 personnel on the payroll at the Border Guard HighCommand, dissolved 14 engineer brigades of reserves under seven corporations, sixvocational training establishments, and rearranged four strategic agencies.

Maj. Gen. NguyenVan Duc, head of the Information and Training Department under the VPA’sGeneral Political Department, said the apparatus rearrangement must make thefighting power of the army stronger.

Maj. Gen. NguyenXuan Kien, head of the Military Medicine Department under the GeneralDepartment of Logistics, said there are 10 military hospitals, five militarymedical centres, 33 military infirmaries, 138 military clinics and 835 militarymedical stations nationwide.

The borderguards’ military medical forces along the Vietnam -  Laos borderline have paid attention toepidemics prevention and provided free health check-ups and treatment for localresidents.

The event alsohighlighted several military medical models such as Mo Rai military medicalstation in Mo Rai commune, Sa Thay district, the Central Highlands province ofKon Tum; Thom Pe military clinic in Lac Sao district, the Lao province ofBolykhamsay; and Con Dao military medical centre – a joint work between Con Daodistrict’s medical centre and the military medical force under the district MilitaryHigh Command.

The militarymedicine sector recorded outstanding achievements in international cooperationthis year. Apart from joint work with ASEAN, Japan, Cuba and France, the sectorheld an international seminar in Russia, joined activities of the InternationalCommittee on Military Medicine, and deployed a field hospital level 2 to SouthSudan for the United Nations peacekeeping mission. The hospital has so faroffered health check-ups and treatment to over 100 patients and successfully performeda difficult surgery.

For the firsttime, the Vietnamese and Chinese military medicine forces offered check-ups andtreatment to residents in border areas in 2018, a sideline activity within theframework of the fifth Vietnam – China border defence friendship exchange.

The two countries’military medical sectors are refining a cooperation agreement and preparing forrealising twinning agreements between Hospital 301 of China and the VietnamTraditional Medicine Institute, as well as boosting collaboration in preventionof tropical diseases and exchange of delegations.-VNA