President Lương Cường and UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the banquet. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — President Lương Cường hosted a banquet in Hà Nội on Friday evening in honour of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam and attending the Signing Ceremony of the UN Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention).

In his remarks, President Cường emphasised that over the past 80 years, the UN has evolved into a common home for 193 member states, jointly addressing global challenges. For nearly half a century within that shared home, Việt Nam has been an active, proactive, and responsible member, consistently accompanying the global body in promoting peace and development.

He affirmed that Việt Nam treasures the UN’s valuable support in helping the nation recover from war, rebuild and develop. Through the organisation, Việt Nam has reached out to the international community to cooperate and integrate for development, contributing to joint efforts for peace, development, and progress. Meanwhile, the world has also come to Việt Nam via the UN, bringing knowledge, experience, resources, and solidarity to empower the country to overcome difficulties and advance strongly.

The President expressed his deep thanks to the UN and Secretary-General Guterres for their enduring partnership and support. He said he believes that despite the challenges ahead, the UN will continue to stand as a symbol of peace and international cooperation, inspiring nations to unite and strive for a better future.

For his part, Secretary-General Guterres said that although the UN has not been able to prevent all conflicts, hundreds of thousands of its personnel and peacekeepers continue their tireless efforts under challenging conditions to provide humanitarian aid and safeguard lives around the world.

He spoke highly of Việt Nam’s contributions, noting not only its active participation in UN peacekeeping missions but also its extraordinary transformation from a war-torn country into one of the world’s notable success stories in development.

Guterres described Việt Nam as a vivid example of the path of peace and progress, and a “pillar of multilateralism”. — VNA/VNS