Hanoi (VNA) – As General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam just concluded his trip to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and conduct working activities in the US, as well as his state visit to Canada, Ambassador, Dr. Ton Sinh Thanh gave an interview to the Vietnam News Agency, highlighting the development of Vietnam’s multilateral diplomacy, the significance of “head-of-state diplomacy” and new foreign-policy thinking in the country’s new development era.
Thanh, who is former Vietnamese Ambassador to India and senior lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said that General Secretary and President Lam’s message at the UNGA that restoring trust does not require countries to eliminate differences but to responsibly manage them was particularly significant amid growing polarisation and divisions worldwide.
The message clearly stressed that differences should be addressed through dialogue, in strict accordance with international law and the UN Charter, rather than through force. Even in complex issues such as territorial disputes, the only way forward is to maintain control and respect international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), rather than resorting to force to resolve them.
This approach, Thanh said, reflected Vietnam’s consistent policy of not choosing sides or depending on any particular party, but standing firmly for international law and the UN Charter, thereby safeguarding national independence and strategic autonomy.
Regarding Vietnam’s shift from following existing rules to proactively contributing to the shaping of new global governance frameworks, the ambassador stated that the General Secretary and President’s UNGA address has put forward major orientations for the UN, including the governance of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in a way that serves people, ensures inclusiveness and respects national sovereignty. Thanh viewed this as a clear reflection of Vietnam’s evolving foreign-policy thinking and its increasingly proactive role in proposing initiatives and contributing to the formation of international rules, particularly in emerging fields.
He noted that this development was consistent with major Party orientations on elevating multilateral diplomacy and deepening international integration, as well as the 14th National Party Congress’s foreign policy directions. Vietnam has increasingly demonstrated this role through initiatives and co-sponsored initiatives on global issues, including environmental protection, women’s and children’s rights and sustainable development.
Looking back nearly five decades since Vietnam joined the UN in 1977, Thanh said the country’s multilateral diplomacy has matured significantly. From a country primarily receiving international assistance for post-war reconstruction, Vietnam has become an active contributor of resources and experience to the international community. It has also played increasingly prominent roles in ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the UN, including serving as ASEAN Chair, hosting APEC summits and holding non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
He noted that Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations in Africa has further demonstrated its practical commitment to international peace and security.
On “head-of-state diplomacy”, the ambassador said direct engagement among national leaders offered distinctive advantages, including building high-level personal trust, strengthening commitments and helping resolve complex issues more effectively. High-level policy messages also have strong international reach and symbolic value.
He viewed General Secretary and President Lam’s recent engagements at the UN, in the US and in Canada as important opportunities to reaffirm Vietnam’s foreign-policy direction and highlight its transition from a rule follower to a contributor to international rule-making. Direct contacts with leaders, political circles and business communities in the US and Canada, he said, could help open new frameworks for cooperation and mobilise high-quality external resources for national development.
In the new development period, Thanh stated, stronger bilateral and multilateral diplomacy would help the country combine its internal strengths with external resources to meet its socio-economic development goals./.
