National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn welcomes UN Secretary-General António Guterres. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Hà Nội on Saturday during the latter’s official visit to Việt Nam.

Welcoming the Việt Nam visit by the UN Secretary-General, Chairman Man expressed his belief that the trip would create new momentum for the Việt Nam – UN partnership, contributing to further strengthening their nearly 50-year cooperation for peace and development.

The NA Chairman thanked the UN leader for his support and the valuable contributions of the UN - Việt Nam's trusted and long-standing partnership to the country's national reconstruction in the past as well as the ongoing renewal, and comprehensive international integration process.

Việt Nam highly valued and strongly supported multilateralism, the central role of the UN in global governance, as well as the leadership and initiatives of the UN Secretary-General, he stated, affirming that Việt Nam would continue making effective contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, as well as to the UN’s common efforts and multilateral cooperation, including global and regional parliamentary forums, especially in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

On this occasion, the host updated the guest on Việt Nam’s socio-economic progress, social welfare policies, and efforts to improve citizens’ living standards. He underscored the legislature’s commitment to strengthening the legal and institutional framework, aligning domestic laws with international commitments, and advancing key UN priorities such as the sustainable development goals (MDGs) and the signing of the UN Convention against Cybercrime, which was signed in Hà Nội on the same day.

The UN Secretary-General expressed his admiration for Việt Nam’s remarkable socio-economic achievements, and congratulated the country on its recent rapid and comprehensive reform progress. He described Việt Nam as a successful model in promoting sustainable development and fulfilling commitments to green and digital transformation, innovation, and comprehensive reform aimed at achieving rapid and resilient growth and better serving its people, saying that these were valuable experiences that other countries and the UN could learn from.

He showed his appreciation for the Vietnamese NA’s active role and contributions to this process, noting his impression of the legislature’s efficient ongoing session. He also valued Việt Nam’s role, position, and contributions through its example, voice, intellect, and concrete actions, particularly in advancing key UN goals, participating in peacekeeping operations, and hosting the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime.

Expressing his admiration for Việt Nam’s foreign policy and ASEAN’s regional achievements, Guterres reaffirmed the UN’s full support for Việt Nam’s development and comprehensive integration, as well as for ASEAN’s central role in the regional security architecture.

He hailed the active participation of the Vietnamese legislature in multilateral inter-parliamentary diplomatic mechanism, showing his hope that it would continue to uphold a proactive role in promoting multilateral solutions to issues of common concern.

The two sides agreed to strengthen connectivity and promote cooperation mechanisms between the Vietnamese NA and the UN, as well as relevant multilateral mechanisms, especially inter-parliamentary cooperation in advancing global initiatives. — VNA/VNS