Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has
recorded substantive improvement of its stature since it became a member of the
United Nations (UN) four decades ago, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Pham Binh Minh affirmed in an interview posted on the Government web portal.
In his remarks, made on the threshold of the
40th anniversary of Vietnam’s UN membership (September 20, 1977), Minh noted on
January 14, 1946, shortly after the country gained its independence, then
President Ho Chi Minh sent a message to the President of the UN General
Assembly to show Vietnam’s respect for the global organisation.
For various reasons, it was not until more than
30 years later that Vietnam became the 149th member of the UN.
The Deputy PM said Vietnam’s struggle for
independence contributed to the UN’s adoption of the General Assembly’s
Resolution 1514, on December 14, 1960, on the granting of independence to
colonial countries and peoples. Following national liberation movements around
the world, this resolution led to the rapid increase of UN members in the
1960s.
Becoming a UN member, Vietnam began to be
assisted by the UN through specialised agencies and organisations such as the
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). They have come
to support the country’s re-building efforts through influential projects such
as the expanded immunisation programme and the family planning programme.
[Vietnam’s 40-year UN membership marked in Geneva]
Over the last four decades, the UN has assisted
Vietnam with more than 2 billion USD, substantially helping development, Minh
noted.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has contributed to the
improvement of the UN’s role by participating in building norms and standards
of international law on issues from disarmament to socio-economic affairs, or plotting
the UN’s orientations like the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Notably, the country’s standing in cooperation
with the UN has also changed, the official said, elaborating that it has
changed from simply taking part in meetings to joining UN mechanisms in an
active manner.
Minh added it has also run for seats at UN
agencies and mechanisms such as the Commission for Social Development, the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Commission on the
Status of Women, the Human Rights Council, the Economic and Social Council, and
the UN Security Council.-VNA