Ambassador Đặng Hoàng Giang, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pledged efforts to promote a nuclear-free Southeast Asia, Ambassador Đặng Hoàng Giang, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN, said at a recent meeting of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the United Nations General Assembly on October 14 in New York.

Speaking on behalf of the association, Giang said ASEAN recently adopted an action programme for 2023-27 to achieve this goal, affirming the group's supports for international efforts towards a world free of nuclear weapons.

ASEAN attached importance to multilateralism in disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, including the central role of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in the global mechanism for promoting disarmament, non-proliferation and use of nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes, he stressed.

The bloc called on countries to continue to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), he said.

The Vietnamese diplomat said ASEAN countries upheld the importance of nuclear weapon-free zones and pledged contributions to the non-proliferation and disarmament mechanism, stressing that states possessing nuclear weapons should vow not to threaten and use nuclear weapons against countries located in these zones.

He also highlighted ASEAN's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including specific cooperation activities in recent times.

The ambassador emphasised ASEAN's commitment to the First Committee’s operations to completely eliminate this type of weapon.

The First Committee is one of the six main committees of the UN General Assembly whose function is to review and discuss disarmament, threats and challenges to international peace and security; and propose appropriate solutions. The committee's meeting opened on October 10 and is expected to last until early November. — VNS