Vice State President Võ Thị Anh Xuân meets with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday evening (local time). VNA/VNS Photos

BISHKEK – Vice State President Võ Thị Anh Xuân held meetings with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other leaders on the sidelines of the expanded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on September 1.

Xuân also met with Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay and President of the Council of Ministers of Togo Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe.

During the meeting with Guterres, Xuân expressed her pleasure at meeting the UN chief and conveyed the best wishes of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm and other senior Vietnamese leaders.

She confirmed that Việt Nam values the major contributions of the UN and the secretary-general to global peace and stability. Việt Nam supports the UN’s central role in maintaining international peace and security and promoting sustainable development based on respect for the UN Charter and international law, while strongly supporting efforts to reform the UN system to make it more streamlined and effective.

Looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-UN relations in 2027, Xuân proposed that the two sides quickly complete the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2027-2031. She also confirmed Việt Nam’s readiness to facilitate and support the establishment of additional UN offices and organisations in the country if the UN requires them.

Briefing Guterres on Việt Nam’s development orientations, she asked the UN to continue supporting the country in developing a skilled workforce, improving access to green finance and accelerating a just energy transition. This support would contribute to Việt Nam’s efforts to maintain double-digit economic growth and strive to become a developed country by 2045.

Guterres conveyed his regards to Lâm and said that Việt Nam is always in his heart, recalling his youth involvement in the movement opposing the war in Việt Nam.

Congratulating Việt Nam on its outstanding socio-economic achievements, the UN chief said Việt Nam has always been a pioneering partner and a driving force for multilateral cooperation within the UN system, particularly through its substantive contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and the just energy transition.

He confirmed that he will direct UN agencies in Việt Nam to step up support for the country’s digital transformation and its goal of achieving double-digit economic growth, while actively assisting Việt Nam in increasing the number of Vietnamese nationals working at the UN.

On regional and international issues, Guterres said the UN is working to reform the international financial system to better support developing countries. He also reaffirmed the UN’s consistent support for ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation on the basis of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân in talks with CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay,

Việt Nam ready to contribute to CICA

At her meeting with CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay, Xuân spoke highly of Kazakhstan’s and Sarybay’s contributions to CICA’s development.

She congratulated CICA on its 30-year development journey, saying the organisation has become a mechanism for promoting dialogue and building confidence among countries, upholding multilateralism, preventing conflicts and peacefully settling disputes on the basis of international law and the UN Charter.

As an active and responsible member of the international community, Việt Nam stands ready to contribute to upcoming CICA activities to promote peace, stability, security and sustainable development in Asia, including the seventh CICA Summit scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan this October.

Việt Nam will also help with efforts to enhance cooperation between CICA and international and regional organisations, including ASEAN, she added.

Sarybay spoke highly of Việt Nam’s role and active contributions to upholding CICA’s fundamental values and principles, particularly multilateralism and international law, as well as its support for efforts to strengthen CICA’s links and cooperation with regional organisations, including ASEAN.

He briefed Xuân on CICA’s recent achievements and priorities, including strengthening the CICA Secretariat, organising visits and working trips by the secretariat to Southeast Asia, carrying out the CICA Fund project in Afghanistan, promoting a cooperation agreement between CICA and a UN counter-terrorism body, preparing to organise the CICA Forum on Strategic Analysis and Studies in India and establishing the CICA Women’s Council.

He said CICA’s priorities ahead include adopting several important high-level documents at the upcoming summit and electing the next CICA chair and secretary general.

Việt Nam, Togo seek stronger practical cooperation

During the meeting with Gnassingbé, Xuân confirmed that Việt Nam values its partnership with traditional friends in Africa, including Togo.

She expressed Việt Nam’s desire to further develop effective and substantive cooperation in areas suited to the two countries’ respective potential, and proposed stepping up exchanges of delegations at all levels, particularly high-level visits.

The two sides should review existing cooperation frameworks and negotiate and sign agreements in specific fields, she said, creating favourable conditions for businesses from both countries to explore cooperation opportunities and make better use of their respective strengths and potential.

Việt Nam is also ready to expand cooperation with Togo, share experience, transfer technology and provide agricultural worker training to help the West African country ensure food security, Xuân said.

She expressed her hope that the two countries would continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, including the UN, and work together to address non-traditional security challenges, particularly climate change.

Gnassingbe conveyed greetings from Togo’s leaders to Lâm and warmly congratulated Việt Nam on its important socio-economic achievements.

He said Việt Nam’s development success could serve as a model for Togo, particularly in agriculture. Agreeing with Xuân’s proposals, he said he would visit Việt Nam soon to see its development achievements firsthand and promote substantive cooperation between the two countries.

Togo is an important gateway to West Africa and one of Việt Nam’s 10 largest African trading partners. Bilateral trade reached US$367 million in 2025, with Việt Nam recording a trade surplus of $167 million, including $267 million in exports and $100 million in imports.

In the first seven months of 2026, Việt Nam’s exports to Togo reached $238 million, up 67 per cent year-on-year. VNA/VNS