Đỗ Việt Hùng, Director General at Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam, at the press briefing on Việt Nam's Presidency of the United Nations Security Council in April. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will serve as the President of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in April, the second time the country will assume the post during its 2020-21 tenure as a non-permanent member, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.

Fostering ties between the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations to promote trust-building and dialogue in preventing and settling disputes will continue to be one of Việt Nam's three priorities as rotating president, Đỗ Việt Hùng Director General at Department of International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam said at a press conference on Thursday in Hà Nội.

This will be the continuation of Việt Nam's efforts since the beginning of its tenure given how earlier in January last year, as the President of the council for the first time, Việt Nam held the first UNSC meeting on co-operation between ASEAN and the UN, Việt said.

According to the diplomat, Việt Nam plans to hold a meeting with UNSC member countries in both in-person and online formats chaired by Vietnamese leaders from Hà Nội on April 19.

The UN Secretary-General has confirmed its attendance, while leaders of ASEAN, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU) have been invited.

Việt Nam will work to build a UNSC document which is expected to be adopted at the event.

Surmounting bomb and mine consequences, maintaining sustainable peace, and strengthening connectivity for more effective actions will be Việt Nam’s second priority at the UNSC.

Overcoming bomb and mine consequence is important to Việt Nam as it has significant impacts on socio-economic development and ensures security and safety, according to the official.

As the problem faces many countries, it is expected to draw the attention of the UN and the international community. Việt Nam plans to hold a ministerial-level meeting chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 8.

The UN Secretary-General has confirmed its attendance at the event together with special guests, including a representative from the all-female landmine clearance team in the central province of Quảng Trị.

Actor Daniel Craig, famed for playing the titular role in the James Bond film series, who is also the UN Ambassador in addressing bomb and mine aftermath, is expected to attend the event via teleconference or send a video message to the event.

The third priority Việt Nam will focus on is the protection of infrastructure that is crucial for people’s life amid armed conflicts, including health facilities, power, water supply systems, food security, sanitation, and schools.

Having experienced decades of war in the past, Việt Nam hopes to draw greater attention to the issue from the UN Security Council, the UN and other countries.

For this issue, a ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held on April 27 with the participation of the Deputy Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and leaders of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Organisations.

Regarding Việt Nam’s engagement in the UN Security Council over the past more than one year, Việt said the council was a leading body in maintaining international peace and security in line with the UN Charter.

To continue its contributions to maintaining international peace and security, over the past year, the council had switched its meetings and discussions from in-person to online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This had also facilitated the engagement of Việt Nam’s leaders in more meetings of the council than in the past.

This had shown the attention of the Government and leaders of Việt Nam’s to multilateralism and the role of the UN and UN Security Council, he said.

During the process, the Vietnamese mission continued to spread the message of Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification, and strengthened the country's involvement at multilateral forums to contribute to common efforts to deal with global challenges.

He said Việt Nam showed strong support for multilateralism and the UN Charter, international law as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The country had promoted the role of regional organisations, including ASEAN, in co-operation with the UN in handling common challenges.

In April, the UN Security Council will have 30 official meetings, and deal with 12 issues in its agenda on all regions.

As the President of the UNSC, Việt Nam will chair all the events and represent the council in relations with member states of the UN as well as the relationship with the media, non-governmental organisations and partners of the UN Security Council.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese mission would show responsible engagement in performing this role to ensure the objectiveness, transparency and flexibility in settling differences that might arise among member countries, he said. — VNS