Vietnam participates actively and responsibly in UN activities. (Photo: VNA)

As early as the first days of the independent state of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh declared that the freedom and complete independence of the nation must be closely linked to world peace. He had sent letters to the UN so that Vietnam could soon join the organization and be recognized by the UN.

In 1977 Vietnam joined the UN. The country had reaffirmed the position of an independent and unified country with basic rights. Since then, Vietnam has cemented its role and position on global multilateral cooperation.

From "participation" to "design"

Since joining the UN, Vietnam has made progress and has become a responsible member of the world community.

Vietnam's multilateral diplomacy has taken decisive steps, such as the normalization of diplomatic relations with the USA, entry into the Southeast Asian group of states ASEAN, entry into the Asia-Pacific economic community APEC and entry into the World Trade Organization. Vietnam was and is also a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2008-2009 and 2020-2021 terms and held the ASEAN chairmanship several times, including in 2020. Ngo Quang Xuan, the Vietnamese ambassador to the UN in New York in Period 1993-1999 and in Geneva in the period 2002-2008:

“We did everything independently and acted jointly with the interests of other countries in our interests. This shows that Vietnam is a responsible member of the UN and a reliable partner. We designed a long period of time. Now we can confidently participate in any UN governance mechanism. The multilateral diplomacy and the position of Vietnam in the UN have clearly and positively changed. ”

Over the past 43 years, the UN has brought great benefits to Vietnam. The UN has helped Vietnam with world integration not only in social welfare, in the course of renewal and in reforming the policy for social and economic development. According to Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan, the relationship between Vietnam and the UN can be described as a successful model of cooperation in the world.

“The UN helped us with the development of the infrastructure and with the workforce. The cooperation between Vietnam and other countries was sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But the cooperation with the UN has got better and better. ”

New level, new focus

The cooperation between Vietnam and the UN is now focused on priority areas such as sustainable development, strengthening the approach to high-quality necessary services, social welfare and promoting public administration.

Vietnam continues to show its capabilities and, together with other countries, promote multilateralism and the spirit of international cooperation. Vietnam will continue to actively participate in multilateral fora, including the UN, and fight for principles of the UN Charter.

Anh Huyen