Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, former deputy minister of foreign affairs. VNA/VNS Photo

Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, former deputy minister of foreign affairs, speaks to Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) on the occasion of 47 years since Việt Nam became the 149th member of the United Nations (September 20, 1977 - September 20, 2024)

A Việt Nam's flag raising ceremony at the UN headquarters on September 20, 1977, marking the important event when Việt Nam became the UN member. VNA/VNS File Photo

Although Việt Nam joined the United Nations (UN) late, the country was elected twice as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC). Do you think this affirms that Việt Nam's role and voice are increasingly recognised by the international community in contributing to global peace and stability?

I couldn’t agree more. Among the UN agencies, only the Security Council is tasked with maintaining world peace and security. Only the decisions of the council are binding on all members, while the decisions of other agencies are only recommendations, not mandatory.

In fact, most countries with sufficient capacity all want to take on the position of a UNSC’s member.

In the 2020-21 term, we were elected with a record high number of votes (192 out of 193 countries).

During two years engaging in the council’s activities, Việt Nam made positive contributions to solving issues related to global peace and security.

Well performing the tasks of the council’s chair in January 2020 and April 2021, Việt Nam proposed initiatives as well as chaired the drafting and approval of two UNSC resolutions and three UNSC presidential statements.

All of those contributions have been recognised and highly appreciated by the international community.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính welcomed UN Secretary General António Guterres during his official visit to Việt Nam in 2022. VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

When Việt Nam assumed the position of a non-permanent member of the UNSC, the international security and political situation arose with increasing tense, complicated and unpredictable developments, in which, the trend of competition among powers emerged. The COVID-19 pandemic threatened the global stability and development. How did Việt Nam demonstrate its role in such a complicated international context?

It is true that during our tenure as a UNSC non-permanent member in 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic made conflicts in the regions more complicated.

Relations between major countries, which had been already tense, became even more complicated.

Due to the pandemic, the UNSC could not hold in-person meetings. Other UN agencies can postpone or cancel meetings, but the UNSC cannot.

If the meeting is cancelled, there will be places where people die, places where people go hungry without relief, places where the injured do not receive treatment.

This affects the lives of not millions of people but hundreds of millions of people everywhere where conflicts exist.

To solve that problem, we quickly adapted to the new situation. The Vietnamese delegation itself actively contributed to the establishment of new working regulations of the UNSC, switching from in-person to online.

It sounds simple, but behind it are many stories about network security or how to vote? We need efforts and contributions from all countries, and I think Việt Nam is one of the very active members.

After only nearly two weeks, the UNSC agreed on a new online working process and implemented it throughout the 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

In that context, we still fully participated in the UNSC activities. In particular, we proposed the UN General Assembly make December 27 the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

Now the UN and the whole world celebrate that day and remember that this is a Việt Nam's initiative.

During the month when Việt Nam was the UNSC chair, Việt Nam initiated an open discussion at the ministerial-level on promoting compliance of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security. Is this considered a remarkable achievement of Việt Nam in its role as the UNSC chair in a very short time?

Taking on the rotating presidency of the UNSC is arranged in alphabetical order. We faced the challenge of not being familiar with the work. However, this also created an opportunity for the chair to arrange the agenda for the whole month.

In the year when the UN celebrates its 75th anniversary, the UN Charter is the fundamental law of the world’s legal system. Therefore, we chose to hold an open discussion on promoting compliance with the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security, which received agreement from member countries.

This discussion set a record in the UN’s 75-year history with 111 speeches lasting three days. Also at this discussion, the UNSC agreed to adopt a Presidential Statement which was called respect for the Charter in maintaining international peace and security. I think this is one of the very deep impressions that Việt Nam left during this term.

When you were head of Việt Nam’s permanent delegation to the UN, how did the international community recognise and evaluate Việt Nam’s engagement in global peacekeeping activities?

For all countries, participating in peacekeeping forces is an honour and responsibility for global peace and security.

As for Việt Nam, we won independence and unified the country through one of the longest and most sacrificial wars of the 20th century. Therefore, the international community pins expectations on Việt Nam’s participation in peacekeeping missions.

In fact, over the past 10 years, Việt Nam’s blue beret soldiers have met those expectations. The people and local authorities in countries such as South Sudan, the Central African Republic and recently the Abei region between South and North Sudan have highly appreciated the service of Vietnamese soldiers, including the doctors and nurses at the Field Hospital in South Sudan. All of them have shown beautiful images of Việt Nam and late President Hồ Chí Minh.

In addition to performing well the tasks assigned by the UN, our soldiers also maintain good relations with localities and local people, bringing the image of Vietnamese people close to locals, which they previously only knew in books and history.

We have also inspired peoples, especially countries still in conflict and instability, to have faith and aspiration to strive for peace and a stable life to the people. How have we done this?

Many countries consider Việt Nam a role model in the struggle for independence and national unification.

Many believe that the Vietnamese people, with so much pain and loss during the war, are the people who understand the value of peace the most. That is why the international community always welcomes and highly appreciates Việt Nam's contributions to maintaining global peace and security.

Now they expect Việt Nam to make more extensive and effective contributions. VNS