General Secretary and President To Lam attends the UN General Assembly: The strongest commitment to multilateral cooperation for the future
The participation of Viet Nam in the Summit Week of the 79th UN General Assembly holds great significance, emphasized Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
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| Party General Secretary and President To Lam addresses the UN Summit of the Future. (Photo: VNA) |
Ambassador, how important is the 79th UN General Assembly amidst the increasingly complex global landscape today?
The 78th UN General Assembly concluded amid volatility. Many parts of the world continue experience poverty, inequality, violence, and conflicts, while non-traditional challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, and epidemics have intensified.
2024 is the hottest year recorded in the history. Other extreme climate conditions might threaten to reverse the socio-economic progress of many nations. We have just witnessed the devastating impact of Typhoon Yagi, which affected not only Vietnam but also neighboring countries like Laos, China, Thailand, and Myanmar, resulting in significant loss of life and property. Moreover, unilateral actions, power politics, major power rivalry, division, and confrontation continue to pose serious challenges to multilateralism and the United Nations.
These challenges have further underscored the reality that no country can effectively tackle global issues on its own. Whether by choice or necessity, in today’s interconnected and interdependent world, only through enhanced cooperation and mutual support can the international community overcome these challenges.
Although the UN’s activities, from COVID-19 response and timely humanitarian assistance to remote and disadvantaged regions, to conflict prevention efforts, achieved modest results, they still demonstrate the vital necessity of the UN specifically, and multilateralism more broadly, in addressing increasingly complex global challenges.
At this historic turning point, marking nearly 80 years of establishment and progress, the United Nations continues to play an irreplaceable role in global governance, serving as the foremost platform for dialogue and the promotion of solutions to regional and global challenges.
Against this backdrop, the United Nations will host a series of events during the Summit Week of the 79th UN General Assembly, highlighted by the Summit of the Future (September 22-23) under the theme “Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow,” and the UN General Debate (September 24-30) on “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.” These events aim to reinforce international cooperation and multilateralism, with the United Nations at the center, and propose global solutions for a better future for humanity. Discussions and decisions made during the Summit Week will have a long-term and far-reaching impact on international relations, global cooperation, and the advacement of common goals.
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| General Secretary and President To Lam led a high-ranking delegation to attend the UN Summit of the Future. |
Could you share the implications of our high-level leaders’ participation in the Summit Week of the 79th UN General Assembly, and the key messages that Vietnam is bringing to the Summit?
From the points mentioned above, I believe we can agree on the significance of our high-level leaders’ participation in the 79th UNGA.
The high-level delegation of Vietnam, led by General Secretary and President To Lam, will attend the Summit of the Future and the UN General Debate, delivering the core message: “Reinforcing multilateralism and fostering constructive joint efforts for peace, stability, prosperity, and sustainability for all people”.
This is the first time a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam has attended the UN General Assembly and the first engagement of General Secretary and President To Lam with this global organization.
The participation of high-level leaders of the Party and State reaffirms, at the highest level, Viet Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism, diversification, and active, extensive, and effective international integration. It brings about an occasion to share Viet Nam’s vision and approaches to global issues and the UN’s role, while showcasing the strong commitment and contributions of the Party and State of Vietnam to multilateral cooperation, major UN agendas, and international solidarity.
This also provides an opportunity to spread Viet Nam’s success story of transforming the hardship of the war’s severe consequences, poverty, and underdevelopment into robust economic growth, a stable social and political environment, and improved living standard for its people.
From a country once under siege and embargo, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with nearly every nation in the world. With increased confidence, Vietnam is making active and responsive contributions to all pillars of the United Nations and assuming critical positions within various UN bodies.
Through its positive vision and its deep interconnectedness with the future of the region and the world, Vietnam not only shares its own story but also inspires and makes substantive contributions to building a peaceful, prosperity, and bright future for all nations in the world.
In addition to participating in multilateral activities, General Secretary and President To Lam will have exchanges and meetings to foster cooperation with the United Nations, Viet Nam’s key partners, and the United States in particular, as the two countries have just celebrated one year of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and is approaching 30 years of the normalization of relations next year.
During the meeting with the Vietnamese diaspora in the United States, the General Secretary and President will reaffirm the policy of great national unity of the Party and State, which considers the Vietnamese diaspora an inseparable part of the nation. On this occasion, the Vietnamese community in the United States will demonstrate solidarity and unwavering affection for the Vietnamese Fatherland.
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| The UN Summit of the Future, took place on September 22 (local time), at UN Headquater. |
The Summit of the Future has recently garnered public attention and raised expectations. What are the dynamics leading up to the Summit, and how is Vietnam participating?
The Summit of the Future is of historic importance, serving as a crucial event for leaders and heads of state to discuss and propose measures to resolve global challenges, define a strategic vision for the United Nations, and shape the future trajectory toward a world of greater peace, prosperity, equality, and sustainability for humankind.
As a result, preparations for the Summit spanned two years. The Summit is welcoming over 150 heads of state and government who have registered to deliver remarks. On the sidelines, hundreds of events will be organized by countries, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to endorse and amplify the Summit’s core messages.
The Summit of the Future covers an extensive and inclusive agenda. Documents issued during the Summit have been praised as the most comprehensive in the past 20 years since the 2005 World Summit. These documents address all areas of cooperation within the United Nations, from development, peace, and security to emerging areas such as digital cooperation, youth, and future generations.
Amid high expectations, countries have engaged in an eager and energetic dynamic. Some rounds of negotiations lasted for months, with negotiators working at the table until midnight.
In the spirit of proactive action, the delegation of Vietnam has made constructive and responsible contributions from the outset and throughout the document-building process. We have integrated Viet Nam’s priorities into the Summit’s documents, which reflect the common concerns of many countries, particularly ASEAN member states and developing nations. These priorities include poverty reduction and eradication, natural disaster mitigation, the promotion of high-quality education, adherence to and upholding of fundamental principles of international laws and the UN Charter, and peaceful resolution to disputes.
The Summit of the Future receives significant attention from leaders of the Party and State at all levels. Along with nearly 50 other heads of state, General Secretary and President To Lam sent a video message to the “Global Call ahead of the Summit of the Future” to forge drivers and emphasize political commitment at the highest level of leadership right before the Summit of the Future. General Secretary and President To Lam is expected to deliver an important remark at the Summit, in which he will share Viet Nam’s vision for the world’s future and affirm Viet Nam’s pledge to implement the Summit’s outcome documents in alignment with Viet Nam’s specific resources and situations.
