Vietnam’s UNSC non-permanent membership benefits ASEAN: Philippine ambassador

A working session of the UNSC (Photo: VNA)

New York (VNA) – Vietnam’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and its fulfilment of the role over the past two years have marked a strong development step of the country and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondents in New York, the ambassador said both Vietnam and Indonesia, which are ASEAN member nations, took over the post last year, which has helped to significantly advance the bloc’s position, especially their contributions to addressing international matters.

In its capacity as non-permanent member and especially rotating President of the UNSC, Vietnam has brought interests to the bloc, while helping to consolidate relations between the UN and ASEAN, he said, noting that Vietnam has actively contributed to countries, particularly other ASEAN nations.

Among initiatives raised by Vietnam at the UNSC, Manalo lauded those that aimed to strengthen cooperation between the UN and ASEAN and other regional organisations.

Thanks to Vietnam’s UNSC non-permanent membership, the ASEAN-UN cooperation agreement has been advanced to a new height, he said.

Vietnam has created its influence during UNSC discussions, especially those on Asian matters like the Myanmar issue, the ambassador said, explaining that Vietnam has provided other ASEAN countries with updates on the UNSC discussions and vice versa.

The country has elevated its position not only in the UNSC but also in ASEAN, the diplomat continued.

Vietnam has worked to add ASEAN matters to the UNSC agenda, helping to raise the bloc’s image to a new level and enhance relations between regional organisations and the UN, especially the UNSC.

Therefore, regional organisations will play a more important role in handling global issues such as security and climate change, and regional issues will be addressed more satisfactorily, Manalo said.

Vietnam has fulfilled its commitments as a UNSC non-permanent member, he affirmed.

Vietnam won the election to become a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2020-2021 after getting 192 votes out of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly.

The country will officially conclude its UNSC non-permanent membership at the end of this month./.

VNA