The visit of the "messenger" of peace

(Baonghean) - On the afternoon of May 22, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and his wife arrived in Vietnam, officially starting a two-day visit at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang. This is the second time Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has come to Vietnam since taking office in 2007.

The main content of this trip is to discuss the development of the Post-2015 Agenda, especially in the fields of environmental protection, damage reduction programs and climate change response. In addition, this meeting of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also aims to exchange and discuss international security issues, cooperation between Vietnam and ASEAN with the United Nations. Maintaining security and common peace is the greatest mission of the United Nations, so it is not difficult to understand why Mr. Ban Ki-Moon chose Vietnam in particular and Southeast Asia in general as the destination. The security situation in the East Sea and the East China Sea continues to develop complicatedly, with potential risks of tension and unpredictability. In the context of political security hotspots in the world such as Ukraine or the Middle East showing no signs of cooling down, the international community will certainly be extremely cautious, paying close attention to areas showing signs of "heating up" and the United Nations must of course take the lead in this enormous task.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

According to the schedule posted on the official website of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon will meet and work with President Truong Tan Sang, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. On May 23, he will attend the opening ceremony and visit the United Nations House in Hanoi - also the first environmentally friendly UN House in the world; and attend the first anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon will also visit Chu Van An High School and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Here, he will give a speech to a large number of students about the role and importance of the young generation in promoting and fighting for gender equality and opposing violence due to gender inequality in schools.

As an individual with many efforts and contributions in completing and promoting the role of the United Nations in maintaining peace - security, development and ensuring human rights, Mr. Ban's visit to Vietnam this time will certainly bring good results. Because Mr. Ban has had many activities and initiatives to resolve regional conflicts and tensions. At the same time, as the head of the United Nations, his voice has a certain weight in issues that need to mobilize the participation of the international community such as environment - climate, anti-terrorism, nuclear weapons, humanitarian relief.

Coming to Vietnam in particular and Southeast Asia in general this time, the UN Secretary General's concerns certainly cannot be absent from the issue of sovereignty disputes in the East Sea and the East China Sea; the issue of humanitarian relief and resolving the migration crisis in Myanmar. Having discussed with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in late 2014, he affirmed his stance on resolving conflicts on the basis of dialogue and emphasized the role of the UN as a mediator if countries in the region expressed their desire for support. This time, in the face of new developments in the direction of increasing tension and the risk of violent conflict, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's direct visit to Vietnam is extremely important, demonstrating the UN's interest and monitoring and increasing the international community's sympathy for Vietnam.

This further affirms that the policy of international integration is correct and necessary for Vietnam to develop rapidly, sustainably and safely. Currently, Vietnam and the United Nations are coordinating to implement the next joint plan for the period 2012 - 2016, the relationship is developing well. Joining the United Nations since 1977, it can be said that Vietnam is increasingly consolidating its relationship with other member countries and is increasingly gaining the trust of the international community. After successfully assuming the position of non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2008 - 2009, Vietnam continued to assume the position of member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2014 - 2016 and participated in peacekeeping activities in a number of countries.

Before visiting Vietnam, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon visited South Korea on May 18, met with President Park Geun-Hye and several other senior leaders. At the same time, during the visit and working program, he opened the World Education Forum held in Incheon. His scheduled visit to North Korea was on May 20, visiting the Kaesong Industrial Zone where there are enterprises cooperating economically with South Korea. Kaesong is only 10km north of the demilitarized zone and is the place where many conflicts with South Korea take place as well as being subject to sanctions from the international community. However, at the last minute, this visit was canceled by North Korea without reason. To see the task of a "mediator" is not always easy. Through this, it can be seen that besides the support of the international community, the countries themselves must aim for an open and goodwill policy in order to integrate and keep pace with the community living on this planet.

Thuc Anh