International community highly appreciates Vietnam's election as non-permanent member of the Security Council
Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2020-2021 term with 192 votes in favor, out of a total of 193 votes.
On June 7, the United Nations General Assembly held a voting session to elect non-permanent members of the Security Council, Vietnam was trusted with the result of 192/193 votes in favor. International scholars have highly appreciated the role and capacity of Vietnam when it was chosen as the only candidate representing 54 Asia-Pacific countries this time.
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| The audience applauded to congratulate the Vietnamese delegation at the United Nations. Photo: screenshot |
At the end of the 89th plenary session of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, President of the General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces announced that Vietnam had been elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2020-2021 term with 192 votes in favor, out of a total of 193 votes. After the announcement of the results, the entire UN General Assembly hall applauded and congratulated Vietnam.
In addition to Vietnam, three other countries were elected to non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council right after the first round of voting: Nigeria and Tunisia of the African regional group with the same number of votes of 191/193, and the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with 185/193 votes.
The Security Council is considered the most important body in the United Nations' activities, with the role of resolving conflicts and crises that may pose a threat to international peace and security. The fact that Vietnam was chosen as the only candidate representing 54 Asia-Pacific countries this time shows that countries highly appreciate Vietnam's role and capacity.
Many international scholars see Vietnam as attracting support because it does not focus on internal issues in Southeast Asia but also cares about issues outside the region. In an article in the Geopolitical Monitor magazine, author James Borton commented that Vietnam's importance to international security has increased significantly since the APEC summit in Da Nang at the end of 2017.
Over the past three decades, Vietnam has been globally recognized as a responsible member of the international community and Vietnam has understood how important the central role of the United Nations is in maintaining international peace and security.
According to the author, as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Vietnam wants to demonstrate its increasingly important voice in ASEAN, promote soft diplomacy and emphasize that Vietnam is persistently pursuing the path of international integration.
Other international experts also commented that the term of non-permanent member of the Security Council coincides with the period when Vietnam holds the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2020, so it has even greater significance for the country's position in the region and internationally. Vietnam's simultaneous assumption of two roles will open up opportunities to amplify the voices of ASEAN countries in international forums.
According to regulations, Vietnam will officially assume the role of non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from January 1, 2020./.
