Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended an event yesterday marking 40 years of Việt Nam’s membership in the United Nations (UN).
On September 20, 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted Việt Nam as its 149th member.
“The moment the red flag with a gold star (Việt Nam’s national flag) was flown at the headquarters of the United Nations marked the recognition of an independent, free and unified state of Việt Nam on the way towards Đổi mới (Renewal) and international integration,” Phúc said at the opening speech of the anniversary event.
Expressing gratitude for the support of the UN and the international community over the past four decades, PM Phúc said he believed the UN was like a “light of hope” uniting all countries in overcoming challenges to ensure prosperity and happiness for all.
“We look forward to the fact that the UN will continue to sustain peace and international security and to prevent conflicts and disputes, while promoting peaceful solutions to resolve (existing) conflicts and disputes in respect of the UN Charter and international law,” he said.
Strengthening effective ties with the UN was always one of the top priorities of Việt Nam’s foreign policy, Phúc added. He said Việt Nam was committed to being a responsible member of the UN agencies, and would plan to expand its peacekeeping operations as well as implement the Sustainable Development Agenda and the COP21 Agreement on climate change.
Việt Nam also hopes for international support in its bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 term, he said.
UN Secretary General, António Guterres, sent a message congratulating Việt Nam on being a successful example of economic development. Guterres also welcomed Việt Nam’s commitments to strengthen co-operation among developing countries and expressed hope that the country would play a bigger role in the UN’s peacekeeping operations.
The UN Resident Co-ordinator in Việt Nam, Kamal Malhotra, meanwhile, pledged that the UN would keep supporting Việt Nam by providing advanced policy consultancy, and sharing international experiences in tackling challenges Việt Nam also faces in order to help the country achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
PM Phúc and Malhotra also inaugurated a photo exhibition on Việt Nam-UN relations over the last four decades. — VNS