Hanoi (VNA) – Since officially becoming the 149th member of the United Nations (UN) on September 20, 1977, Vietnam has always been a trustworthy partner and an active member of the organisation, with numerous important contributions to the implementations of its missions, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has stated.

In his article entitled “45 years of Vietnam-UN relationship: reliablepartnership for peace, cooperation and development", Son underlined thatcooperation with the UN is always an important part of the Party and State’s foreign policies, showing the determination and aspiration of  the Vietnamesepeople to join hands with the world community for peace, national independence,democracy, cooperation and development.

In Vietnam’s renewal cause, the collaboration betweenVietnam and the UN has developed strongly, deeply and effectively, he noted,adding that UN programmes and projects have greatly contributed to the reformand international integration of Vietnam, especially the development ofsocio-economic infrastructure, education and healthcare services, povertyreduction, and environmental protection, along with the sharing of developmentexperience in many areas.

Thanks to the promotion of its self-reliance and effectiveuse of external resources, Vietnam has gained many important developmentachievements and received high evaluation from the UN and the internationalcommunity, according to the FM.

He noted that Vietnam showed early completion of five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and effective implementation of the “Deliveringas One” reform initiative, while making efforts to finish the Agenda 2030 onsustainable development and fulfilling its commitments on carbon neutralisation by 2050.

During the hardest COVID-19 period, Vietnam received great support in vaccineand medical equipment from the UN through the World HealthOrganisation and the COVAX Facility. Through the tripartite cooperation modelwith the assistance of the UN, Vietnam has actively shared its knowledge andexperience learnt from the reform cause with other developing countries, especially inthe field of economic reform, international integration, agricultural, healthcare and education development, Son stated.

The minister quoted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres ascommenting that Vietnam is an important factor of peace and stability in theregion and the world. The country has persistently upheld international law andfundamental foundation of the UN Charter, working hard to promote the search for long-term and comprehensive solutions to conflicts, he stressed. He noted thatwhile acting as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (in the2008-2009 term and 2020-2021 term), Vietnam proposed many initiatives and solutionsto global issues.

To date, Vietnam has sent 512 military officers and fourpolice officers to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and UN headquarters,affirming its high sense of responsibility to the international security and promotingthe reputation of the Vietnamese soldiers as “envoys of peace and friendship”.

In the field of human rights, Vietnam is upholding dialogue andcooperation, promoting the spirit of humanity and compassion, putting thepeople at the center of development, sharing achievements and experiences inprotecting fundamental human rights, and ensuring justice and social progress.After the 2014-2016 term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Vietnam isrunning for a seat at the council in the 2023-2025 term to continuecontributing to the promotion of human rights in the world.

With the achievements of the ‘Doi moi” (Renewal) cause and positivecontributions to the common efforts of the international community, Vietnam hasbeen trusted and elected to many important UN organisations such as the UN SecurityCouncil (2008-2009 and 2020-2021 terms), UN Socio-Economic Council (1998-2000,2016-2018 terms), UN Human Rights Council (2014-2016 term), International LawCommission (2017-2021 and 2023-2027 terms), UNDP Executive Board, UNPopulation 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 ofresponsibility and substantive contributions to the common work of the UN,Vietnam has clearly shown the position, identity and mettle of Vietnam'sdiplomacy in the Ho Chi Minh era, strongly spreading the message of an independent,self-reliant, innovative, peace-loving, international law respecting, reliable,sincere and responsible member of the international community, Son underlined.

The minister stressed that the 13th National Party Congress continued toaffirmed the important position of the UN in the foreign relationsorientations and policies of the Party and State, defining the need to continue enhancing multilateral external relations, actively engaging in and promotingits role in multilateral mechanisms, especially the ASEAN, the UN and importantcooperation frameworks and mechanisms of strategic importance, suitable to therequirements, capabilities and conditions of the country.

Accordingly, Vietnam has continued to attach great importance to and strengthencooperation with the UN, staying persistent to independence and self-reliance,ensuring the highest interests of the country and nation on the basis of the UNCharter and the basic principles of international law, equality, cooperationand mutual benefit, making striving to promote the core, leading and mediationrole in international issues when conditions permit, while continuing topromote multilateral cooperation and collaboration between the UN and regionalorganisations, including ASEAN, to jointly find long-term solutions to securityand development challenges in the world, according to Son.

He also pointed to the need to enhance the quality ofdiplomatic officials to increase their presence at UN organisations.

Vietnam will continue to work hard tocontribute to reinforcing the central role of the UN in the global managementsystem, thus working together for sustainable peace, independence of states,democracy, cooperation and social progress, the minister affirmed./.