Prime Minister meets with UN Under-Secretary-Generals in Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received three United Nations Under-Secretary-Generals in Hanoi on March 7, saying that Vietnam attaches special importance to relations with the UN.

The UN Under-Secretary-Generals at the event were Gyan Chandra Acharya, who is also High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States; Shamshad Akhta, who is Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; and Wu Hongbo, who is in charge of economic and social affairs.

PM Phuc welcomed their participation in the UN high-level meeting for the Euro-Asia region on improving cooperation in transit and trade facilitation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is underway in Hanoi.

He said Vietnam treasures UN agencies’ precious assistance and cooperation over the past four decades which have greatly helped with the country’s development.

Amid the complex international and regional situation, Vietnam shares the UN Secretary-General’s viewpoint on the need to promote multilateralism to cope with global challenges and resolve conflicts and disputes by peaceful means.

Vietnam wants the UN to continue playing the central role in keeping global peace and security and assisting countries in successfully carrying out the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Vietnamese leader noted.

He stressed that Vietnam will remain an active and responsible member of the UN by increasing its engagement in the UN’s peacekeeping operations and bringing into play its membership at UN agencies.

The country supports efforts to reform the UN, including the One UN initiative, and pledges to proactively and actively take part in common efforts of this organisation to build a world of peace and sustainable development, he added.

PM Phuc also asked the UN to help Vietnam to avoid the middle-income trap and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

For their part, the Under-Secretary-Generals said Vietnam is a responsible UN member which has participated in all activities of the UN as well as the One UN initiative. The UN also highly values the country’s efforts to switch to sustainable development, respond to climate change, and realise the Millennium Development Goals.

They said Vietnam’s lessons are valuable experiences for other countries, noting that the country has effectively combined the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals with its own socio-economic development targets.

The UN wants to continue augmenting cooperation with Vietnam in the time ahead, they added.-VNA