Bishkek (VNA) – Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan held meetings with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay, and President of the Council of Ministers of Togo Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe on September 1 evening (local time) on the sidelines of the expanded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO Plus) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Meeting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Xuan expressed her pleasure at meeting the UN chief, and conveyed the best wishes of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam and other senior Vietnamese leaders.
She affirmed that Vietnam highly values the major contributions of the UN and the Secretary-General personally to global peace and stability. Vietnam supports the UN’s central role in maintaining international peace and security and promoting sustainable development based on respect for the UN Charter and international law, while strongly supporting efforts to reform the UN system to make it more streamlined and effective.
Looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-UN relations in 2027, Xuan proposed that the two sides soon complete the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2027-2031. She also affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to facilitate and support the establishment of additional UN offices and organisations in the country if the UN has such a need.
Briefing Guterres on Vietnam’s development orientations, she asked the UN to continue supporting the country in developing high-quality human resources, improving access to green finance and accelerating a just energy transition. Such support would contribute to Vietnam’s efforts to maintain double-digit economic growth and strive to become a developed country by 2045.
Guterres conveyed his regards to General Secretary and President Lam and said that Vietnam is always in his heart, recalling his youth involvement in the movement opposing the war in Vietnam.
Congratulating Vietnam on its outstanding socio-economic achievements, the UN chief said Vietnam has always been a pioneering partner and a driving force for multilateral cooperation within the UN system, particularly through its substantive contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and the just energy transition.
He affirmed that he will direct UN agencies in Vietnam to step up support for the country’s digital transformation and its goal of achieving double-digit economic growth, while actively assisting Vietnam in increasing the number of Vietnamese nationals working at the UN.
On regional and international issues, Guterres said the UN is working to reform the international financial system to better support developing countries. He also reaffirmed the UN’s consistent support for ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation on the basis of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Vietnam ready to contribute to CICA
At her meeting with CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay, Xuan spoke highly of Kazakhstan’s and Sarybay’s contributions to CICA’s development.
She congratulated CICA on its 30-year development journey, saying the organisation has become a mechanism for promoting dialogue and building confidence among countries, upholding multilateralism, preventing conflicts and peacefully settling disputes on the basis of international law and the UN Charter.
As an active and responsible member of the international community, Vietnam attaches importance to and stands ready to contribute to CICA activities in the coming period to promote peace, stability, security and sustainable development in Asia, including the seventh CICA Summit, scheduled to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in this October, as well as efforts to enhance cooperation between CICA and international and regional organisations, including ASEAN, she added.
Sarybay spoke highly of Vietnam’s role and active contributions to upholding CICA’s fundamental values and principles, particularly multilateralism and international law, as well as its support for efforts to strengthen CICA’s links and cooperation with regional organisations, including ASEAN.
He briefed Xuan on CICA’s recent achievements and priorities, including strengthening the CICA Secretariat, organising visits and working trips by the Secretariat to Southeast Asia, implementing the CICA Fund project in Afghanistan, promoting a cooperation agreement between CICA and a UN counter-terrorism body, preparing to organise the CICA Forum on Strategic Analysis and Studies in India, and establishing the CICA Women’s Council.
He said CICA’s priorities ahead include adopting several important high-level documents at the upcoming summit and electing the next CICA Chair and Secretary General.
Vietnam, Togo seek stronger practical cooperation
Meeting with Togo’s President of the Council of Ministers Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Xuan affirmed that Vietnam always values its friendship with traditional friends in Africa, including Togo.
She expressed Vietnam’s desire to further develop effective and substantive cooperation in areas suited to the two countries’ respective potential, and proposed stepping up exchanges of delegations at all levels, particularly high-level visits.
The two sides should review existing cooperation frameworks and negotiate and sign agreements in specific fields, she said, creating favourable conditions for businesses from both countries to explore cooperation opportunities and make better use of their respective strengths and potential.
Vietnam is also ready to expand cooperation with Togo, share experience, transfer technology and provide agricultural human-resource training to help the West African country ensure food security, Xuan said.
She expressed her hope that the two countries would continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, including the UN, and work together to address non-traditional security challenges, particularly climate change.
Gnassingbe conveyed greetings from Togo’s leaders to General Secretary and President Lam and warmly congratulated Vietnam on its important socio-economic achievements.
He said Vietnam’s development success could serve as a model for Togo, particularly in agriculture. Agreeing with Xuan’s proposals, he said he would soon visit Vietnam to see its development achievements firsthand and promote substantive cooperation between the two countries.
Togo is an important gateway to West Africa and one of Vietnam’s 10 largest African trading partners. Bilateral trade reached 367 million USD in 2025, with Vietnam recording a trade surplus of 167 million USD, including 267 million USD in exports and 100 million USD in imports.
In the first seven months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports to Togo reached 238 million USD, up 67% year-on-year./.
