Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes UN officials in Vietnam

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (front, third, right), UN Resident Coordinator Kamal Malhotra (front, third, left) and other UN and Vietnamese officials at the meeting on October 21. (Photo: VNA)

Offering congratulations on the UN’s founding anniversary (October 24), PM Phuc affirmed Vietnam always considers the UN as one of the priorities in its foreign policy and a leading important partner, noting that development and specialised organisations of the UN are “precious friends” who have greatly assisted the country since the post-war period full of hardships.

Vietnam has managed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic early and been making efforts to boost socio-economic development, he said, adding that this year, it may record a growth rate of 2-3 percent to become the only nation to post positive economic growth in ASEAN and the fourth largest economy in the region.

For his part, Resident Coordinator Malhotra extended condolences to the Vietnamese Government and people on the heavy losses of life and property caused by floods and landslides in the central region.

He said the UN is sending its staff to join damage assessment teams in affected localities so as to provide aid.

The UN official thanked Vietnam for its strong support for and valuable contributions to the UN and multilateralism, especially amid a number of challenges around the globe at present.

Appreciating the country’s contributions to climate change response efforts, Malhotra said as ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnam has been playing an important leadership role, including in coping with COVID-19.

The official also congratulated Vietnam on its successful control of the COVID-19 outbreak and noted that the UN is a close partner of the country in responding to health issues, especially via the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Resident Coordinator Office, and other UN agencies.

On this occasion, he presented PM Phuc with two recent UN reports: the UN Secretary-General’s global COVID-19 situation report and a report assessing the pandemic’s socio-economic impacts on Vietnam.

He also expressed his hope for the early signing of the new UN sustainable development cooperation framework for 2022-2026 with the country.

PM Phuc congratulated the UN World Food Programme on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2020, adding that Vietnam attaches great importance to agriculture as well as food production and export, which are a firm support helping to stabilise people’s lives, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seventy-five years since its establishment, the UN is facing the need to boost the reform of its development system so as to build a new generation of UN organisations at national, regional and global levels, and Vietnam always supports and is ready to contribute to these efforts of the UN, he said.

The PM asked UN organisations to provide more policy consultancy to help with the Vietnamese Government’s socio-economic governance.

The Government of Vietnam will continue promoting cooperation activities with the UN and create favourable conditions for UN development organisations in the country to effectively carry out joint programmes and projects, along with the reform of the UN development system, the leader affirmed.

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