45 years of Việt Nam-UN ties: Reliable partnership for peace, cooperation, development

In the article entitled “45 years of Việt Nam-UN relationship: reliable partnership for peace, cooperation and development", Vietnamese foreign minister underlined that cooperation with the UN is always an important part of the Party and State’s foreign policies.

Since officially becoming the 149th member of the United Nations (UN) on September 20, 1977, Việt Nam has always been a trustworthy partner and an active member of the organisation, with numerous important contributions to the implementations of its missions, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn has stated.

In his article entitled “45 years of Việt Nam-United Nations relationship: reliable partnership for peace, cooperation and development", Sơn underlined that cooperation with the UN is always an important part of the Party and State’s foreign policies, showing the determination and aspiration of the Vietnamese people to join hands with the world community for peace, national independence, democracy, cooperation and development.

In January 1946, President Hồ Chí Minh, on behalf of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam, sent a letter to the President of the UN General Assembly expressing his wish for Việt Nam to join the UN.

Through so many ups and downs in history, on September 20, 1977, Việt Nam officially became the 149th member of the UN, and since then, the country has always been a reliable partner, an active member and made many important contributions to the implementation of UN missions.

In Việt Nam’s đổi mới (renewal) cause, the collaboration between Việt Nam and the UN has developed strongly, deeply and effectively, he noted, adding that UN programmes and projects have greatly contributed to the reform and international integration efforts of Việt Nam, especially its assistance to the development of socio-economic infrastructure, education and healthcare services, poverty reduction, and environmental protection, along with the sharing of development experience in many areas.

Thanks to the promotion of its self-reliance and effective use of external resources, Việt Nam has accomplished many important development achievements and earned high regards from the UN and the international community, according to the FM.

He noted that Việt Nam has managed early completion of five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), effective implementation of the “Delivering as One” reform initiative, while making efforts to finish the Agenda 2030 on sustainable development and fulfilling its commitments on carbon neutrality by 2050.

During the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Việt Nam had received great help in vaccine and medical equipment from the UN through the World Health Organisation and the COVAX Facility. Through the tripartite cooperation model with the assistance of the UN, Việt Nam has actively shared its knowledge and experience learned from the reform cause with other developing countries, especially in the field of economic reform, international integration, agriculture, health care and education development, Minister Sơn stated.

The minister quoted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres when he said that Việt Nam is an important factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. The country has persistently upheld international law and fundamental foundation of the UN Charter, working hard to promote the search for long-term and comprehensive solutions to conflicts, he stressed. He noted that while acting as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (in the 2008-09 term and 2020-21 term), Việt Nam had proposed an array of initiatives and solutions to global issues.

To date, Việt Nam has sent 512 military officers and four police officers to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and UN headquarters, affirming its strong sense of responsibility to the international security and promoting the reputation of the Vietnamese soldiers as “envoys of peace and friendship”.

In the field of human rights, Việt Nam is upholding dialogue and cooperation, promoting the spirit of humanity and compassion, putting the people at the centre of development, sharing achievements and experiences in protecting fundamental human rights, and ensuring justice and social progress. After the 2014-16 term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Việt Nam is currently running for a seat at the council for the 2023-25 term to continue contributing to the promotion of human rights in the world.

With the achievements of the đổi mới cause and positive contributions to the common efforts of the international community, Việt Nam has been trusted and elected to many important UN organisations such as the UN Security Council (2008-2009 and 2020-2021 terms), UN Socio-Economic Council (1998-2000 and 2016-2018 terms), UN Human Rights Council (2014-2016 term), International Law Commission (2017-2021 and 2023-2027 terms), UNDP Executive Board, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) (2000-2002 term), and the Executive Board of the UNESCO (1978-1983, 2001-2005, 2009-2013, 2015-2019, and 2021-2025 terms).

With a high sense of responsibility and substantive contributions to the common work of the UN, Việt Nam has clearly demonstrated the position, identity and mettle of Việt Nam’s diplomacy in the Hồ Chí Minh era, robustly conveying the message of an independent, self-reliant, innovative, peace-loving, international law respecting, reliable, sincere and responsible member of the international community, Sơn underlined.

The minister stressed that the 13th National Party Congress continued to affirm the important position of the UN in the foreign relations orientations and policies of the Party and State, defining the need to continue enhancing multilateral external relations, actively engaging in and promoting its role in multilateral mechanisms, especially the ASEAN, the UN and important cooperation frameworks and mechanisms of strategic importance, suitable to the requirements, capabilities and conditions of the country.

Việt Nam has continued to attach great importance to and strengthen cooperation with the UN, staying persistent to independence and self-reliance, ensuring the highest interests of the country and nation on the basis of the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law, equality, cooperation and mutual benefit, striving to promote the core, leading and mediation role in international issues when conditions permit, while continuing to promote multilateral cooperation and collaboration between the UN and regional organisations, including ASEAN, to jointly find long-term solutions to security and development challenges in the world, according to Sơn.

He also pointed to the need to enhance the quality of diplomatic officials in the modern times, and have appropriate policies to increase their presence at UN organisations.

Minister Sơn remarked that maintenance of peace and expansion of cooperation for development is the general aspiration of countries, even against the backdrops of a fast- and ever-changing world.

He said Việt Nam will continue to work hard to contribute to reinforcing the central role of the UN in the global management system, thus working together for sustainable peace, independence of states, democracy, cooperation and social progress.