President Tran Dai
Quang
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The president stressed
that the admission of Vietnam as an official member of the UN on September 20,
1977 is an important event for the country.
The Vietnamese State and people always treasure the valuable and practical
assistance that the UN has provided for Vietnam, he added.
The President recalled that in the late 1970s and early 1980s, UN assistance
made up 60 percent of total foreign aid to Vietnam. When the country embarked
on the cause of Doi Moi (renewal), industrialization, modernisation and
international integration, the organisation has provided hundreds of millions
of USD in aid each year.
The UN’s aid is of great help for Vietnam to realise its socio-economic
development goals and become one of the nations to fulfill the UN Millennium
Development Goals soon, he said.
As an active and responsible member of the international community, Vietnam
regards the cooperative ties with the UN as one of the top priorities in its
external affairs policies, President Quang said.
According to the State leader, since the first days of joining the UN, Vietnam
has been proactively and actively involved in UN activities. International
friends have acknowledged Vietnam’s role in world movements for national
independence, sovereignty and right of self-determination as well as in those
to stop arms race and advocate comprehensive and full disarmament, he added.
The international community also recognised Vietnam’s active contributions to
the building and implementation of UN treaties and conventions along with the
building of an equal, transparent and effective global multilateral
institution, meeting the mankind’s aspiration, he said.
The President stressed that Vietnam upholds the fundamental principles of
international law and the UN Charter in addressing international conflicts and
disputes through peaceful means, and attaches importance to the central role of
the UN in maintaining peace and security around the world.
He noted that Vietnam is leading in the implementation of the UN initiative of
"Delivering As One”, and is also striving to implement successfully the 2030
Agenda for sustainable development, the Paris agreement on climate change, and
the UN initiative on coping with El Nino and La Nina and peacekeeping
activities.
With its efforts and effective contributions to the UN activities and
development, Vietnam has won the trust of the international community, which
was demonstrated by the high number of votes to elect the country to UN
agencies, particularly the UN Security Council (the 2008-2009 tenure), the UN
Economic and Social Council (the 1998-2000 and 2016-2018 tenures), the UN Human
Rights Council (the 2014-2016 tenure), the UNESCO Executive Council (the
2015-2019 tenure), and the International Law Commission (the 2017-2021 tenure).
Talking about the future of the relations between Vietnam and the UN, President
Tran Dai Quang said under the 12th Party Congress’ Resolution of proactively
participating in and promoting the role at multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN
and the UN, Vietnam will enhance the cooperation with the UN in a deeper and
more effective manner, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, and
sustainable development in the region and around the world.
Vietnam vows to stand side by side with other member countries to promote
fundamental principles of the UN Chapter and international law along with
equal, friendly and cooperative relations among nations, ensuring legitimate
interests of all countries, especially developing ones, the President said.
Vietnam will increase its involvement in the UN peacekeeping activities and
support the UN reform efforts towards increasing efficiency, transparency and
democracy in all activities.
The country is committed to fulfilling its role as a member in UN mechanisms
and takes the lead in proposing specific initiatives in fields of priority.
President Quang said Vietnam is running for a non-permanent seat in the UN
Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, with the hope to make active and
pragmatic contributions to the UN efforts in safeguarding international peace
and security.
He said Vietnam and the UN will focus on implementing the joint One Strategic
Plan for the 2017-2021 period signed between the two sides last July, adding
that the plan with four priorities is expected to assist Vietnam in
implementing the sustainable development strategy in 2011-2020, the
socio-economic development plan in 2016-2020, and the UN sustainable
development goals.
The plan will lay an important foundation for the country to carry out specific
cooperation activities with the UN in the years to come, the President said.