Training Course on Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

On 7–8 March 2024, in Hanoi, the Chemical Corps – the Standing Office of Vietnam's National Focal Point for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Standing Office 81) – in cooperation with the European Union's Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods in South-East Asia (EU P2P), organised a Training Course on Countering the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

View of the workshop

The training course was attended in person by 25 participants and online by more than 50 participants, comprising officials responsible for risk management and anti-money laundering from banks across the country, managers from the State Bank of Vietnam and officials from Vietnam's National Focal Point for countering the proliferation of WMD. The trainers were leading experts in legal advisory services and anti-money laundering from the EU P2P Programme, together with officials from Standing Office 81.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Chemical Corps, Deputy Head of Standing Office 81, delivers the opening remarks at the workshop

In his opening remarks, Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Chemical Corps, Deputy Head of Standing Office 81,  outlined the implementation of Decree No. 81/2019/ND-CP on countering the proliferation of WMD, aimed at fully meeting the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the requirements of the multilateral regimes to which Vietnam is a party. In this context, Standing Office 81 attaches particular importance to raising the awareness and capacity of the relevant stakeholders. According to Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, this training course not only provides information to officials from financial institutions but also aims to raise their awareness and their capacity to enforce legal regulations, ensuring that proliferation financing activities can be promptly identified, addressed and prevented.

Participants attending the workshop in person pose for a group photo

The training course took place over two days, with 10 lectures accompanied by exercises and case-study discussions on proliferation financing. This is the first time Standing Office 81 has cooperated with the EU P2P Programme to organise an in-depth training course on “Countering the Financing of WMD Proliferation” specifically for bank officials (as representatives of financial institutions (FIs), which are the entities obliged to implement targeted financial sanctions (TFS)). The lectures focused on the following topics: (i) defining the scope, (ii) the legal framework, (iii) sanctions measures, (iv) export control, (v) the relevant standards of the Financial Action Task Force, (vi) virtual assets, (vii) typologies of proliferation financing, (viii) implementation options for governments, (ix) guidance on targeted financial sanctions to counter WMD proliferation financing and (x) discussion exercises, presented by experts from the EU P2P Programme together with Vietnamese experts. This helped participants understand and effectively apply this knowledge to screen for and prevent risks related to proliferation financing in banking operations, and to investigate and handle related violations.

Thu Ha – Standing Office 81