KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia, May 29 : A United Nations official said here on Monday that Cambodia's significant contribution to UN peacekeeping operations is very much appreciated.

"I am truly grateful for the Cambodian men and women who decide to join the blue helmets," Joseph Scheuer, UN resident coordinator to Cambodia, said in a speech on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers held at the Training School for Multinational Peacekeeping Forces in Kampong Speu province.

"Peacekeepers, working in partnership with member states, civil society, and communities, have an honorable quest to improve the lives of millions of people," he said.

Scheuer said he was particularly inspired by the women that join the UN peacekeeping forces, saying that more women in peacekeeping means more effective peacekeeping.

Cambodian Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh said Cambodia is proud to be one of the countries that have sent blue helmets to maintain peace in war-torn countries under the UN umbrella.

"At the same time, Cambodia has been actively involved with the international community in tackling global challenges, including the fight against terrorism, transnational crime, climate change, infectious diseases, and immigration issue, among others, for the sake of peace, security and prosperity in the region and in the world," he said.

Banh, who is also a Cambodian deputy prime minister, thanked the Cambodian people for supporting their children or spouses to serve in the UN peacekeeping missions, saying their contribution is respectable and admirable.

At the event, participants laid wreathes to honor a total of 11 Cambodian peacekeepers who had died while on duty over the past 17 years.

Cambodia first sent troops overseas on the UN peacekeeping missions in 2006. The Southeast Asian nation has dispatched a total of 8,951 peacekeepers, including 692 women, to join UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Mali, and Yemen.

 - Xinhua