Do Hung Viet, head of the Foreign Ministry's Department of International Organisations speaks at the press conference (Photo: VNA)– Fostering the cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations to promote trust building and dialogue in preventing and settling disputes will continue to be one of three priorities of Vietnam while it holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in April, said a Foreign Ministry official.
This will be the second time Vietnam has assumed this post during its tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.
Speaking at the ministry’s regular press conference on March 25, Do Hung Viet, head of the ministry's Department of International Organisations, said that this will be the continuation of Vietnam’s efforts since the beginning of its office tenure. Earlier in January last year, as the President of the council for the first time, Vietnam held the first UNSC meeting on cooperation between ASEAN and the UN.
Viet said that Vietnam plans to organise a meeting with UNSC member countries in both in-person and online formats, chaired by senior Vietnamese leaders from Hanoi on April 19. The UN Secretary-General has confirmed attendance, while leaders of leading regional organisations: ASEAN, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU) have been invited.
Vietnam will work for building a UNSC document which is expected to be adopted at the event
Surmounting bomb and mine consequences, maintaining sustainable peace, and strengthening connectivity for more effective actions will be Vietnam's second priority at the UNSC.
Overcoming bomb and mine consequence is important to Vietnam as it has significance impacts to socio-economic development and ensures security and safety for people, he said.
As the issue occurs in many countries in the world, it is expected to draw attention of the UN and the international community, he said, adding that Vietnam plans to organise a ministerial-level meeting chaired by the Foreign Ministry on April 8. The UN Secretary-General has confirmed to attend the event together with special guests, including a representative from the female landmines clearnance team in Quang Tri. Actor Daniel Craig, the UN Ambassador in addressing bomb and mine aftermath, is expected to attend the event via teleconference or send a video message to the event.
The third priority that Vietnam will focus on is the protection of necessary infrastructure that is crucial for people’s life amid armed conflicts, including health care facilities, power, water supply systems, food security, sanitation, and schools.
Experiencing years of war in the past, Vietnam hopes to promote the issue to draw greater attention from the UNSC, the UN and other countries.
For this issue, a ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held on April 27 with the participation of the Deputy Secretary General for humanitarian affairs, leaders of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Organisations, he added.
Regarding Vietnam’s engagement in the UNSC over the past more than one year, Viet said that the council is a leading important body in maintaining international peace and security in line with the UN Charter.
To continue its contributions to maintaining international peace and security in dealing with conflicts in regions around the globe, over the past year, the council has switched its meetings and discussions from in-person to online format due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has also facilitated the engagement of Vietnam’s leaders in more meetings of the council than in the previous tenure. This has shown the attention of the Government and leaders of Vietnam to multilateralism and the role of the UN and UNSC in particular, he said.
During the process, the Vietnamese mission has continued to spread the message of Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification, and strengthen the country's involvement at multilateral forums to make contributions to common efforts in dealing with global challenges, according to Viet.
He underlined that Vietnam showed strong support to multilateralism and UN Charter, international law as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Meanwhile, the country has promoted the role of regional organisations, including ASEAN in cooperation with the UN in handling common challenges.
In April, the UNSC will have 30 official meetings, and deal with 12 issues in its agenda on all regions from Africa, the Middle-East to Europe, America, among others.
As the President of the UNSC, Vietnam will chair all the events and represent the council in the relations with member states of the UN as well as the relationship with the media, non-governmental organisations and partners of the UNSC.
The Foreign Ministry and Vietnamese mission will show active, positive and responsible engagement in performing this role in order to ensure the objectiveness, transparency and flexibility in settling differences that may arise among member countries, he said./.