48 years of Vietnam joining the United Nations: Marking every journey for peace, cooperation and development

Vietnam is considered by the United Nations and the international community as a successful example in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and a country determined and serious in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Document for the Future.

On September 20, 1977, Vietnam officially joined the United Nations. In the photo: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Duy Trinh (second from right) attends the Vietnamese flag-raising ceremony at the United Nations headquarters. (Photo courtesy)

Priorities in foreign policy

Multilateral diplomacy is one of the priorities in the foreign policy of the Party and State of Vietnam, affirmed in documents of Party Congresses.

The 13th National Party Congress oriented multilateral foreign affairs work as "proactively participating in and promoting the role in multilateral mechanisms, especially ASEAN, the United Nations (UN), APEC, Mekong sub-regional cooperation and regional and international cooperation frameworks".

Resolution 22-NQ/TW dated April 10, 2013 of the Politburo on international integration clearly stated the task of "proactively and actively participating in multilateral institutions, contributing to building a fair and democratic political and economic order, preventing war and conflict, consolidating peace , and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation".

The Secretariat issued Directive No. 25-CT/TW dated August 8, 2018 on promoting and elevating multilateral diplomacy to 2030, making multilateral diplomacy a top strategic orientation and an effective method to successfully carry out two strategic tasks - building and defending the Fatherland.

Resolution 59-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2025 of the Politburo on international integration in the new situation and Conclusion 125-KL/TW dated February 14, 2025 of the Secretariat on strengthening the implementation of Directive No. 25-CT/TW continue to affirm and develop the above viewpoints. On that basis, promoting relations with the UN is identified as one of the focuses of multilateral diplomacy over the periods.

The Vietnam-UN cooperation relationship over the past 48 years (1977-2025) has contributed to protecting and promoting Vietnam's national interests, especially maintaining and consolidating a peaceful, secure and favorable environment for national development; promoting deeper international integration and contributing to enhancing Vietnam's position and image in the international arena; deepening Vietnam's relations with countries, key partners, friends and taking advantage of an important resource to serve the country's development.

On the other hand, Vietnam has proactively and increasingly substantially contributed to the activities of the United Nations, including promoting the role of the United Nations and multilateralism, promoting respect for the UN Charter, international law, equal relations, development cooperation between countries and the right to self-determination of peoples, opposing acts of oppression, invasion, and unilateral embargoes in international relations; participating in and contributing to the discussion process, adopting many important resolutions and declarations of the United Nations on development cooperation, disarmament, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, combating terrorism and ensuring human rights.

Vietnam is considered by the United Nations and the international community as a successful example in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and a country determined and serious in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Document for the Future.

Vietnam also actively promotes UN reform initiatives, and is considered one of the leading countries in implementing the UN's "Delivering as One" initiative to increase the effectiveness of UN operations at the national level.

With its contributions, Vietnam has been elected to many important positions and agencies of the United Nations and has left many "imprints" of Vietnam at agencies such as the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

General Secretary and President To Lam speaks at the Future Summit, 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 2024. (Source: VNA)

Outstanding marks

Currently, Vietnam has approved the National Cooperation Programs between Vietnam and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for the 2022-2026 period and the Vietnam-UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the 2022-2026 period.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Vietnam in 2022 on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Vietnam's participation in the UN. He is expected to visit Vietnam next October.

On the sidelines of multilateral and international conferences, senior Vietnamese leaders regularly hold bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary-General (such as on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly High-Level Week, the 2024 G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...), UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed (most recently on the sidelines of the P4G Summit hosted by Vietnam last April) and leaders of UN specialized organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF...

At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26) in 2021, Vietnam participated in and promoted important multilateral initiatives, notably Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's commitment at COP 26 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, joining the Global Commitment to Reduce Methane Emissions, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the Declaration on Transition from Coal to Clean Electricity, and the Global Alliance for Adaptation Action.

Vietnam continues to actively participate in the UN's common efforts in resolving regional and international peace and security issues, and promoting human rights: Vietnam actively participated in negotiating and signing the 2018 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and was the 10th country to ratify the Treaty.

In the field of UN peacekeeping, by April this year, Vietnam had sent nearly 1,100 officers and staff to join the UN peacekeeping force. Vietnam is currently one of the countries with a high proportion of female participation among the countries sending forces to join UN peacekeeping missions (14.5%).

In addition, since 2024, Vietnam has also established the 1st UN Peacekeeping Police Unit and is continuing to prepare for its early implementation.

Vietnam has been holding many important positions at UN agencies such as: Non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the 2021-2023 term, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Operations Council for the 2022-2025 term, Vice President of the 77th UN General Assembly (September 2022-September 2023); all 6 most important agencies of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); International Law Commission (ILC) for the 2023-2027 term; UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term; Legal and Technical Commission of the Seabed Authority (LTC) for the 2023-2027 term; UNWOMEN Executive Council for the 2025-2027 term.

The Vietnamese delegation attended the voting session and announced the results of the membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2022. (Source: Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations)

During its participation in the UN, Vietnam has had many initiatives that have left many outstanding marks. We have proposed that the UN adopt the International Day for Epidemic Prevention on December 27 (from 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic), and the International Day of Fun on June 11 (from 2024). During its two terms as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Vietnam has chaired and promoted the Security Council to adopt three resolutions on women, peace and security (Resolution 1889), extending the backlog mechanism of international criminal courts (Resolution 2529), protecting essential civilian infrastructure (Resolution 2573); four Security Council Presidential Statements on children and armed conflict (July 2008), promoting the UN Charter (January 2020), mine action and the role of regional organizations (April 2021).

Over the past 48 years, from the period of national reconstruction after the war to the period of breaking the embargo and gradually integrating more deeply into the international community, the cooperation between Vietnam and the UN has had great significance and positive effects, meeting the requirements and interests of Vietnam in each period, contributing to enhancing the role, voice and "imprint" of Vietnam's contributions at the UN.

These results will facilitate the joint efforts of Vietnam and the UN in overcoming existing shortcomings, expanding and further enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation, actively supporting Vietnam's national development and international integration, and contributing to enhancing the role of the UN in the new period.

Remarkable effort

Vietnam's efforts have received much praise from UN leaders as well as representatives of UN organizations such as UNDP, UNESCO, IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF... showing recognition of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements and demonstrating the effectiveness of Vietnam's comprehensive cooperation model, people-centered and sustainable development oriented.

With its pioneering role in implementing the UN's Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, Vietnam is considered an important partner of the largest organization on the planet, as recently stated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guteres: "Vietnam has always been a strong partner of the UN since joining in 1977. Your leading role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals is a solid foundation for you to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Vietnam has been making important contributions in supporting sustainable peace."

Mr. Khuc Tinh, Deputy Director General of UNESCO, recently told the press: "Since carrying out the national renovation process in 1986, Vietnam has achieved many important achievements, becoming a middle-income country, the economy has not only grown on a large scale but also improved the quality of growth. UNESCO has accompanied and supported Vietnam in the transition process and affirmed that in the coming years it wishes to cooperate with Vietnam - a typical member country".

Vietnam always considers people as the center, taking improving the quality of life as the top priority. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Vietnam has always placed people at the center, taking improving the quality of life as the top priority. On that journey, UNFPA has been a strategic partner of Vietnam for more than 45 years.

Mr. Matt Jackson, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam said: "These policies are really a huge step forward for Vietnam in moving towards the goal of universal health care. I appreciate this effort of the Vietnamese Government. And this effort will especially help us reach vulnerable groups, the poor, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and migrants."

In the field of education and child protection – a pillar of sustainable development, UNICEF has also been a trusted partner of Vietnam since the early years of national reconstruction.

Ms. Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam, once shared that, in the field of education in particular, Vietnam currently has many positive leadership initiatives, especially in building a policy framework for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into education: "I think Vietnam is one of the pioneering countries in the field of innovation and digital transformation, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Vietnam is on the right track, not only demonstrated by issuing policies on AI application in education, but also through specific actions," Ms. Silvia Danailov assessed.

With the foundation of achievements over the past half century, Vietnam has not only contributed to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, but also affirmed its role as a proactive and responsible partner in the international community. Vietnam has been, is and will continue to be a reliable partner and an active member in the global effort for peace, prosperity and a green, equitable and sustainable future for all.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/48-nam-viet-nam-gia-nhap-lien-hop-quoc-ghi-dau-tren-moi-hanh-trinh-vi-hoa-binh-hop-tac-va-phat-trien-328191.html