NEW YORK – The themes and topics chosen by Việt Nam during the month it served as President of the United Nations Security Council in April have received support from the international community.
Ambassador Olof Skoog, Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations, hailed the relevance of the major topics that Việt Nam picked for April as the UNSC President, especially those related to cooperation between the UN and regional organisations, reconciliation diplomacy and confidence-building measures.
According to him, at present, the situation is tense in many parts of the world, but the UNSC unfortunately has not been able to issue a resolution on every issue. Therefore, Việt Nam's emphasis on trust building is a very good approach to seek support from other countries in promoting the council’s agendas.
Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the UN, also spoke highly of the key topics selected by Việt Nam. According to her, regional organisations are of great importance in promoting dialogue and reconciliation diplomacy in conflict prevention, as well as in finding solutions to solve conflicts.
She appreciated Việt Nam's promotion of discussions on strengthening dialogue and conflict settlement through peaceful means, putting people at the centre, prioritising humanitarian policies and intensifying relationships with regional organisations. She stressed that all of these contents are very consistent with the priorities of the AU, an alliance that always wants to tightent its cooperation with other regional organisations, especially ASEAN.
Sharing the same view, Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland's Permanent Representative to the UN, said that Ireland acknowledges the importance of regional organisations and supports the member states of each regional organisation.
According to her, the April 27 session on the protection of essential infrastructure in conflicts focused on issues closely related to human life and Việt Nam has created its own imprint with the results of this session.
As a new member of the UNSC, Ireland appreciates all three key topics that Việt Nam brought to the discussion in April, she said, adding that the Irish Foreign Minister had attended all three high-level sessions chaired by Việt Nam, showing that Ireland attaches great importance to Việt Nam's Presidency of the UNSC as well as issues of substantial importance that Việt Nam chose to put on table.
The ambassador also said Việt Nam has done the right thing when working to connect ASEAN with the UNSC to solve the Myanmar conflict. ASEAN needs to work closely with the council to find a solution to the current situation in Myanmar, she added.
The UNSC open debate on mine action under the chair of Việt Nam also won applause from the international community.
Ilene Cohn, Officer-in-Charge of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), stressed that Việt Nam put forward the issue at the right point of time. She noted that the meeting held great importance since the UNSC is the body responsible for resolving issues to maintain the world’s peace and security, adding that when bombs and landmines remain a major threat to people around the globe, the UNSC should continue to give priority to this issue in its agenda.
Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, head of the India Mission to the UN, and Ambassador Anouparb Vongnorkeo, head of the Laos Mission to the UN, also highly valued Vietnam’s active and increasingly important role in the UN Security Council during the month it chaired the council.
They said the topics that Việt Nam selected for discussions in April were relevant and practical. VNS