Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh and United Nations Secretary-General Antonió Guterres had talks in New York on September 23. — Photo from Việt Nam Government Portal

NEW YORK — The United Nations (UN) will continue paying attention to and support Việt Nam's development priorities towards green and sustainable orientations, UN Secretary-General Antonió Guterres told Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh on September 23.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) in New York, Guterres appreciated Việt Nam’s active and responsible contributions to the common affairs of the UN in recent years, and said he hoped that the country would promote its role and contribute more to addressing global issues.

Minh, for his part, emphasised that Việt Nam had always backed multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations in global governance and coordination of efforts to address common challenges.

More effort should be made to help the UN operate more effectively and with sufficient resources to best meet the needs and expectations of member states, he said.

The Deputy PM reaffirmed Việt Nam’s commitment to working with member countries and UN leaders to advance important common agendas, from the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to peacekeeping operations in different regions of the world.

Việt Nam is actively implementing its commitments at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to net zero emissions by 2050, Minh stated, proposing the UN actively support the process of building the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh had a meeting with President of United Nations General Assembly 77 Csaba Korosi. — Photo from Việt Nam Government Portal

At a meeting with President of UNGA 77 Csaba Korosi, Minh appreciated Korosi's selection of the topic and priorities, affirming that Việt Nam, as Vice President of the UNGA, would actively support and contribute to the success of the session.

Korosi asserted that the UN appreciated Việt Nam’s contributions and thanked the country for its active role in the implementation of the SDGs. Việt Nam was a role model of economic growth associated with environmental protection, he stressed.

He also shared his priority of water resource management and wished to cooperate with Việt Nam in this field, as it was necessary to promote measures to prevent water crises, build a water-related database at regional and global levels, and connect national policies on water and climate change.

The UNGA President expressed his hope that Việt Nam would actively participate in and share its experience at the UN Water Conference in March 2023.

Agreeing with the UNGA President’s initiatives and proposals, and sharing his special concern over water management, Minh said that Việt Nam always considered water an important security issue due to the impact of droughts, floods and sea levels rising and the development and over-exploitation of water resources.

Việt Nam was determined not to sacrifice the environment in exchange for economic growth, but there should be a balance between economic development and environmental protection, he stressed. — VNS