Vietnam's mark at the Nuclear Security Summit

The 3rd Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, concluded after two days of intensive work with the active participation of heads of state and government of 53 nuclear powers as well as countries with many civil nuclear applications.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the Conference. (Photo: Duc Tam/VNA)

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, not only contributed to the overall success of the Conference but also clearly affirmed that Vietnam has been and will continue to make every effort, together with its partners, to actively contribute to global issues.

Proactive and responsible in global issues

The Nuclear Security Summit is a major international event that attracts special attention from the media around the world, not only because of the appearance of many heads of state and government of major powers, but also because the issue of nuclear security and safety is always the focus of human attention.

This is a high-level forum, gathering and strengthening political will as well as goodwill to cooperate in the common efforts of the international community to ensure nuclear safety and security.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, attended all seven plenary sessions and proposed eight out of 15 initiatives presented at the conference related to nuclear information security, establishing training and support centers on nuclear security...

Speaking before the international community, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung clearly stated Vietnam's consistent stance on using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and ensuring nuclear safety and security.

Not only demonstrating political will, Vietnam also actively acts in efforts to build and perfect national institutions as well as responsibly participate in legal instruments and international initiatives related to nuclear security.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung once again pledged that Vietnam will continue to make every effort to work with partners to actively contribute to ensuring nuclear security globally, especially in its capacity as a member and Chairman of the IAEA Board of Governors for the 2013-2014 term.

The determination, sense of responsibility, and profound assessments and comments of the Vietnamese Prime Minister were welcomed, shared, and agreed upon by the leaders attending the conference, especially when Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized the need to strengthen the role of multilateral institutions, especially the IAEA and the United Nations, in the face of challenges to humanity's common goal of ensuring nuclear security and safety.

The Prime Minister also called on the international community to have specific and appropriate programs and solutions to support developing countries in this field.

This proposal of Vietnam is completely consistent with the needs and interests in the process of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes of developing countries like Vietnam.

It must also be said that, not coincidentally, this is the third time President Barack Obama personally sent a letter inviting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to attend and contribute initiatives to the Nuclear Security Summit.

Strengthening cooperation for mutual development

Taking advantage of every hour and minute, between meetings, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung proactively met and discussed with heads of state on bilateral cooperation issues and regional connectivity issues in the spirit of friendship, respect, construction, and cooperation for mutual development.

During the two consecutive days of the Conference, interspersed with breaks between sessions and in the evening, the Head of Government held up to 20 bilateral meetings with most leaders of major countries that are partners with Vietnam such as US President Obama; Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Francois Hollande, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, South Korean President Park Geun Hye, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong... and international organizations such as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso...

One of the meetings that attracted international attention between Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and US President Obama was the negotiation process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). Accordingly, both sides affirmed their determination to soon conclude the TPP negotiations with other members in the spirit of paying due attention to interests and differences in development levels.

President Obama pledged to provide flexibility and differential treatment appropriate to Vietnam's conditions, as well as to open the US market to Vietnamese textiles, footwear, agricultural and aquatic products, while also properly handling new or sensitive issues related to labor, government procurement, etc.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also had a discussion with President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso about promoting the early ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Vietnam and the EU and the negotiation process of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement. This will be a balanced agreement, bringing real benefits to both sides...

In an open exchange with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested that senior leaders of the two countries should increase regular contact to directly discuss and promptly resolve emerging issues, especially in the current complicated context.

Based on the bilateral cooperation plans that the two governments agreed upon during the recent visit of Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Mr. Xi Jinping hopes that the Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee will soon meet to discuss specific measures to promote their implementation in the most effective way.

During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed that the two governments will focus on actively and effectively implementing the agreements reached during President Truong Tan Sang's recent visit to Japan.

Regarding the suspicion that the Japan Transport Consulting Company (JTC) bribed Vietnamese officials to win contracts for projects using ODA capital from the Japanese Government, the two Prime Ministers agreed to assign relevant agencies of the two countries to seriously coordinate in investigating this case, and at the same time affirmed the determination of the two governments to closely cooperate to prevent negativity and corruption in projects using ODA from Japan; not to let the case affect ODA sources from Japan for Vietnam in the coming years...

Through Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's activities at the conference, not only did it contribute to strengthening understanding and political trust, but it also promoted bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and countries and international organizations, especially in key areas and emerging issues of national and international interest.

Promoting exemplary Vietnam-Netherlands cooperation

Despite being busy with organizing a large international conference, the Netherlands still paid special attention and warmly welcomed the activities of the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation.

Right after leaving the closing session of the Conference, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte immediately held talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to discuss specific measures to promote cooperation in five priority areas including Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management; Agriculture; Energy and Oil and Gas; Seaports and Logistics Services.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to direct the two countries' governments to continue supporting and creating favorable conditions for businesses to increase cooperation and investment, especially in fields such as oil and gas, shipbuilding, agriculture, etc.

The two governments are determined to soon conclude negotiations and move towards signing the “Strategic Partnership Agreement on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security.”

In more than two months, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will pay an official visit to Vietnam. This once again demonstrates that the Netherlands attaches special importance to strengthening relations and promoting cooperation with Vietnam.

This trip is expected to be a further step to concretize areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Following the success of the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit held in Korea in 2012, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's attendance at this conference once again left a deep impression on the international community about Vietnam - a responsible, proactive and active member contributing to the international community's common efforts to reduce risks to nuclear security and safety.

The presence and mark of the Vietnamese Government leaders in bilateral meetings have contributed to enhancing the role, prestige and position of Vietnam in the international arena, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation areas between Vietnam and partner countries, bringing practical benefits to the country's integration process./.

According to Vietnam +