Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, head of the Việt Nam Mission to the UN, represents the ASEAN-UN cooperation resolution on behalf of ASEAN. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

NEW YORK — The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on November 23 adopted the ASEAN-UN cooperation resolution with the backing of 110 countries, the highest number of co-sponsors for the resolution since it was first introduced in 2002.

As the ASEAN Chair 2020, Việt Nam represented the group in drafting and negotiating for the resolution.

Compared to the 2018 version, the 2020 version updates outstanding cooperation outcomes between the UN and the ASEAN since 2018, including the achievements of the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action for the 2016-2020 period, and the first-ever discussion of the UN Security Council on the role of ASEAN in maintaining international peace and security and the adoption of the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action in the 2021-25 period.

The efforts by ASEAN in building the ASEAN Community and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are also highlighted, along with many cooperation contents between the two sides.

Introducing the resolution, Ambassador Đặng Đình Quý, head of the Việt Nam Mission to the UN, underscored the central role of the ASEAN in promoting partnership and cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region as well as the ASEAN-UN comprehensive partnership.

He also highlighted new content of the resolution, which is reviewed every two years, and expressed gratitude to UN member states for supporting the negotiations for the document as well as their co-sponsorship and adoption of the resolution.

The ASEAN-UN cooperation resolution aims to affirm and promote the collaboration between the two sides. This year, the document was negotiated and advocated in the shortest-ever time but received the highest number of supporters. — VNS