Promoting the role in multilateral mechanisms, enhancing the country's position

Under the leadership of the Party, the Vietnamese people have achieved significant achievements, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's prestige and position in the international arena. This helps us proactively participate in building and ensuring security and peace in the region and the world, thereby fulfilling the task identified by the 12th Party Congress, "proactively participating in and promoting our role in multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN and the United Nations (UN)".

Vietnam has been and is continuing to participate in and contribute to the basic cooperation pillars of the United Nations, contributing to the practical and effective completion of foreign affairs goals and tasks.

Foreign policy is a part of the general leadership of our Party. At each revolutionary stage, it has specific goals, requirements, and tasks, and contributes to serving the domestic policy.

Over more than 30 years of renovation, our country has achieved many important achievements of historical significance in all areas of social life: The economy has grown well, politics has been stable, national defense and security have been strengthened, culture and society have made new developments; the material and spiritual life of the people has been improved; foreign relations have been increasingly expanded and deepened, and Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena have been enhanced.

Based on assessments of the international environment and the country's requirements, the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress clearly stated that the current foreign affairs task is to "maintain a stable and peaceful environment, maximize external resources for national development...; resolutely and persistently fight to firmly protect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland, protect the Party, State, people and socialist regime; enhance the country's position and prestige and contribute to the cause of peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world". In that overall general policy, our Party also determined to "proactively participate in and promote its role in multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN and the United Nations".

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Vietnam - Illustration photo

Implementing the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, Vietnam has continued to participate in and contribute to the basic cooperation pillars of the United Nations, contributing to the completion of foreign affairs goals and tasks in a practical and effective manner.

Vietnam has successfully fulfilled its tasks when participating in UN organizations, such as: Security Council (2008-2009 term), Economic and Social Council (1998-2000 and 2016-2018), Human Rights Council (2014-2016), UNESCO Executive Council (2015-2019), International Law Commission (2017-2021).

Vietnam has also stepped up sending forces to participate in UN peacekeeping operations starting from June 2014...

In any position, Vietnam has proactively and actively promoted international peace, independence, sovereignty, national self-determination, social progress, and ensured human rights...

However, the complex and volatile international environment also poses many challenges, requiring countries, including Vietnam, to actively participate in solving them. Vietnam has proactively shifted from “active participation” to “proactive contribution to building and shaping common rules of the game” when participating in common international affairs while still ensuring the country's vital interests.

Right before the end of the 2008-2009 term, Vietnam continued to run for the position of non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2020-2021 term. On May 25, 2018, at the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Group at the UN, the countries unanimously approved the nomination of Vietnam as the group's sole candidate for the position of non-permanent member of the UNSC (term 2020-2021) at the election to be held in June 2019.

Vietnam's participation in the election process for a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the second time demonstrates Vietnam's determination to actively participate in the activities of the UN, especially the most important agency in ensuring world security and peace.

In 2020, Vietnam will assume the role of ASEAN Chair. “If elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, this “dual” role will help Vietnam have more conditions to work with ASEAN countries to promote common regional interests in the UN agenda,” said former Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Pham Quang Vinh.

Since joining ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam has always considered ASEAN one of its top foreign policy priorities.

Over the past 25 years, Vietnam has always strived to contribute to ASEAN's common work as a proactive, active and responsible member.

Not only proposing and implementing ASEAN initiatives, Vietnam also attaches great importance to raising awareness and understanding of domestic agencies, people and businesses about the association and especially the ASEAN Community. Since 2010, when assuming the role of ASEAN Chair, Vietnam has proposed the theme of the year as "Towards the ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action". Up to now, practical actions have continued, and many of Vietnam's foreign resources have been devoted to community building tasks, emphasizing the goal of putting people at the center.

“Vietnam has shown an excellent role in building the ASEAN Community in this country. Vietnam’s experiences will certainly benefit ASEAN when Vietnam assumes the role of ASEAN Chair in the coming time. Vietnam is clearly a proactive and active member in regional and global integration activities. Vietnam is very open to learning from past experiences as well as best practices in the region and the world,” said Mr. Peter Girke, Chief Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Foundation in Vietnam.

In addition, the successful organization of APEC Year 2017 or the recent second US-DPRK Summit is vivid evidence that Vietnam's multilateral foreign affairs activities have been raised to a new level, thereby effectively protecting and promoting Vietnam's strategic interests in security and development, while demonstrating the spirit of "a responsible member of the international community".

Thoroughly grasping and implementing the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, in the coming time, Vietnam will continue to actively contribute to maintaining peace, stability and sustainable development in ASEAN and the world, while promoting external forces to soon turn our country into a modern industrialized country; successfully realizing the goal of a rich people, strong country, democracy, fairness and civilization./.