Vietnamese military doctors hold up two flags of the United Nations and Viêt Nam at Juba International Airport, South Sudan as they begin to carry out UN peacekeeping missions in the African country. VNA/VNS Photo

 HÀ NỘI – As President of the United Nations Security Council in April 2021, Việt Nam will organise a high-level open debate on the role of regional organisations in promoting confidence-building and dialogue in conflict prevention and resolution on April 19 via both in-person and online forms.

The event will be presided over by State President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, marking the first time a high-ranking leader of Việt Nam has chaired an event within the framework of the UN Security Council. This is also the first important multilateral diplomatic event of the Vietnamese President since the 13th National Party Congress.

Building trust and dialogue

Deputy Foreign Minister Đặng Hoàng Giang said that Việt Nam has presided over the making of, and actively consulted to pass the Statement of the UN Security Council President.

The Statement will affirm the importance of cooperation between the United Nations, its Security Council and regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement through peaceful measures, on the basis of respecting basic principles of international law and the UN Charter, and underlined confidence-building and dialogue measures as essential elements to contribute to conflict prevention and settlement.

The Statement will call for efforts to strengthen cooperation between the UN, its Security Council and regional organisations as well as between regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement towards the building of sustainable peace, while encouraging the UN and the international community to support the improvement of capacity of regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement, post-conflict reconstruction, and peace maintenance.

“The role of regional organisations in promoting trust building and dialogue in conflict prevention” is the most important and inclusive theme of the UN Security Council which is the UN’s main body in the prevention of wars and conflicts and maintenance of international peace and security, Giang said, adding that as a member of many important regional mechanisms, especially ASEAN, Vietnam wants regional organisations to further promote their roles, improve their images and share responsibility with the UN in preventing and solving conflicts in the region, for the stability and prosperity of the region and the world.

Đỗ Hùng Việt, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Organisations, emphasised that when building priorities for the working term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, Vietnam determined to promote the role of regional organisations in cooperation with the UN Security Council in particular and the UN in general.

The upcoming high-level open debate will elevate Việt Nam’s initiatives to contribute to maintaining international peace and security. Through this event, Vietnam wants to affirm its commitment and efforts to address global challenges facing the international community, Việt added.

In particular, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s presiding over the event is the affirmation at the highest level about Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralism, and proactive and active international integration during its new stage of development.

Intensifying ASEAN’s role

According to Việt, as a member of ASEAN, Việt Nam wants ASEAN to have an increasing voice, position and role in matters directly related to the region as well as enhancing the bloc's presence as a regional organisation at the UN.

Through this event, Việt Nam will contribute to drawing the attention of the international community and the United Nations to cooperation with ASEAN, and strengthening the bloc’s role at international forums and institutions in the coming time.

The open debate will be also an opportunity for leaders of the UN and regional organisations such as ASEAN, the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), as well as the UN Security Council member states to assert the important role of regional organisations, share experience of each regional organisation in dealing with difficulties and challenges in their respective regions.

Việt Nam expects this to be the start of a longer process at the UN Security Council on issues related to regional organisations and their role in promoting trust building and dialogue in conflict prevention, thus contributing to the UN’s joint efforts to maintain peace, security and development in the world. VNS