Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh delivers speech at the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh has affirmed the country’s all-out effort to ensure people’s right to development while addressing the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.

The Deputy PM, who is also Foreign Minister, stated that since its inception, the Declaration on the Right to Development has been the inspiration for many important international development frameworks, particularly the historic 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement that was adopted in 2015.
He affirmed the relevancy of the principles in the Declaration today, highlighting the right to development as an inalienable human right that is applicable to all people and is not bracketed to any group of countries. 
“Everyone, regardless of race, gender, age, religion and ethnicity, is entitled to participate in development and enjoy the fruits of development. In a broader perspective, every country, big or small, is entitled to choose its own way of development and its means to ensure the right to development for its people,” he noted. 
He went on: “This noble principle also implies the importance of upholding international laws and ending imposition and power politics that only obstruct development and the right to development.” 
“As development is a comprehensive process, the right to development should be approached in a holistic and multi-dimensional manner,” he said, noting that the right to development is inseparable from other rights, including the right to live in an environment of peace, security and prosperity where no one is left behind. 
“As a developing country, Việt Nam has made all-out efforts to ensure the right to development for every Vietnamese. Always placing people at the center of development, we have, indeed, mainstreamed the right to development in our various policies, including in all three dimensions of sustainable development - social, economic and environmental policies. We have also worked tirelessly to create an enabling environment for the most vulnerable groups and ensure equal development opportunities for all people in our country,” he told participants.
He stated that the country is fully committed to the 2030 Agenda and other development frameworks and willing to work with other Member States to make the United Nations development system “fit for purpose” so that all people on this planet can enjoy their unequivocal right to development.

Sideline meetings

Việt Nam and Belgium will continue to tap their potential for cooperation in logistics, high-technology, green growth and vocational training.

This view was shared by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel during their meeting in New York on Thursday (local time), which took place on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly.

The Deputy PM and FM affirmed Việt Nam’s consistent policy of enhancing its relations with Belgium – the country’s most important partner in the EU.

He also called on the Belgian Government to continue granting scholarships to Vietnamese students.

On the fringe of the UN session, the Vietnamese official also met with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

He suggested Bulgaria accelerate the signing of the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and soon recognise Việt Nam’s market economy status.

Following the meeting, the two officials signed an agreement on real estate of the two countries’ diplomatic representative offices.

On this occasion, Deputy PM and FM Minh had a meeting with Hungarian Minister of External Economy and Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, during which they noted their hope to foster the two countries’ traditional relationship across fields.

The Vietnamese official thanked the Hungarian Government for its cooperation with Việt Nam in development, including health care and fresh water supply.—VNS