FM stresses importance of multilateral diplomacy in nation’s new development stage

The press conference held on April 1, 2021 to inform about the month Vietnam served as President of the UN Security Council (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam's successes and imprints at the UnitedNations Security Council (UNSC) as its non-permanent member in the 2020-2021term have contributed to affirming that the Party and State's policy ofupholding multilateral diplomacy is absolutely sound, thus strengthening thefoundation for the country to continue pushing forward the implementation of thispolicy in the new period, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has said.

According to Son, through the success of the tenure as anon-permanent member of the UNSC and other important foreign affairsachievements, the Vietnamese people increasingly trust in the sound foreignpolicy of the Party and State, and the international community expects Vietnam to continue making more important contributions tosolving global and regional problems.

After three years of implementing the 12th-tenureParty Central Committee Secretariat’s Directive 25 on promoting and enhancingmultilateral diplomacy by 2030 – the Party’s first document on this issue, the workhas been deployed strongly and synchronously and seen many importantmilestones. Notably, Vietnam has fulfilled many important internationalresponsibilities such as its roles as a non-permanent member of the UNSC in the2020-2021 tenure, the ASEAN Chair in 2020, as well as the successful organisationof many major international conferences such as the World Economic Forum -ASEAN Summit in 2018 and the US-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Summit in2019.

Representatives of Vietnam and other UNSC members attend a discussion on the Yemen situation in May 2021 (Photo: VNA)

In addition, Vietnam has been elected with a high number ofvotes to various prestigious organisations and agencies of the UN such as theInternational Law Commission, the Board of Governors of the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency, the UNESCO Executive Board, the Postal Operations Councilof the Universal Postal Union.

The outstanding results have contributed to the overallachievements of Vietnam's foreign policy after 35 years of Doi Moi (Renewal),contributing to raising the international position and prestige that Vietnamhas never had before, thus helping inspire national pride, and expand theinternational community's support for the country's renewal cause.

The diplomat affirmed that, along with other important foreign affairsactivities, assuming the role of a non-permanent member of the UNSC hascontributed to consolidating a stable and favourable external situation for thenation building and safeguarding cause, expanding and deepening relations withmany important partners, especially UNSC member states. Vietnam has also asserted itsposition and prestige as a faithful friend, a reliable partner, and an active andresponsible member of the international community, and has received the consensusand support of all members of the UNSC and international friends.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA)

Through the two-year term, Vietnam can learn from numerousvaluable lessons. The first is the sound settlement of the relationship between independence,self-reliance and international solidarity and cooperation; between nationalinterests and international obligations and responsibilities on the basis of fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law. The second is thepromotion of the nation's tradition of diplomacyand President Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic ideology. The third lesson is skillfulcombination between position and power, between multilateral and bilateraldiplomacy, and between political, economic and cultural diplomacy. And thefourth is the importance of training competent diplomats, FM Son added./.

VNA