Climate action high in UN Secretary-General's visit to Viet Nam

In a recent interview with VGP, Pauline Tamesis said during the upcoming visit to Viet Nam, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam's membership of the UN.

The Secretary-General will meet with senior leaders of the Party, the Government and the National Assembly, as well as other senior officials, and participate in a dialogue with the youth.

The focus of the Secretary-General's visit is expected to be on climate action, as Viet Nam seeks to translate commitments made at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) into action.

As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Viet Nam is at the frontline of experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation.

At the COP26, Viet Nam committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, phase out coal by 2040s, and other initiatives including ending deforestation and reducing methane gas emissions by 2030.

As Viet Nam is also accelerating its move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, the UN has expressed support for Viet Nam's Just Energy Transition Partnership with the Group of Seven (G7) nations, she said.

Viet Nam demonstrates to be increasingly active member of int'l community

Viet Nam joined the UN in September 1977. Over the past 45 years, Viet Nam has transformed itself from a country reliant on UN assistance, to one strongly contributing to regional and global agenda.

According to Pauline Tamesis, in recent years, the nation has played an important regional and global role in contributing to maintaining international peace and security.

Viet Nam has demonstrated itself to be an increasingly active member of the international community, including its contributions to UN Peace Operations and to the UN Security Council's Women Peace and Security Agenda.

Viet Nam became a troop-contributing country in 2014, and is a new police-contributing country, with the first group of Vietnamese police personnel deployed on 14 October 2022.

Viet Nam currently deploys personnel to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

In 2014, Viet Nam also set up an international peacekeeping training center, one of four in the Asia-Pacific region.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 term, Viet Nam was noted for its adoption of the first-ever Presidential Statement on upholding the UN Charter, reaffirming its commitment to multilateralism.

As Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Viet Nam advanced integration across Southeast Asia, and strengthened the connectivity between ASEAN and the UN through a first-ever meeting on cooperation.

With Viet Nam's recent election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, the UN looks forward to supporting Viet Nam in its plans to translate its human rights commitments to actions.

The UN welcomes Viet Nam's pledges to strengthen human rights in all its dimensions, prioritize gender equality, and better protect the rights of vulnerable groups.

UN vows to contribute towards increasingly resilient Viet Nam

Regarding the UN's assistance for Viet Nam over the recent years, the UN Resident Coordinator for Viet Nam said that the UN provided support in the political, humanitarian, reconstruction and normative work during the early days of Viet Nam's membership to the UN.

During the Doi Moi reforms in the 1986-1995 period, the UN actively supported Viet Nam by providing key economic advice and providing resources amounting to hundreds of millions of US$ annually.

During the turn of the 21st century, the UN's support to Viet Nam focused on poverty reduction, social policies, aid coordination, state capacity building, and resource mobilization.

Since 2000, the UN shifted its technical assistance for Viet Nam to legislative, economic and public administration reforms, as well as the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), many of which were achieved by Viet Nam ahead of 2015.

Post-2015, the UN has continued to support Viet Nam in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through the One Strategic Plan (OSP) of the Government of Viet Nam and the UN in 2017-2021 and the new One Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation between the UN and the Government of Viet Nam for 2022-2026.

The Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 is a commitment between the United Nations and the Government of Viet Nam to work together, and in partnership with broader society (non-governmental organizations, academia, the private sector and other development partners).

The goal is to contribute towards an increasingly resilient Viet Nam that embraces the wellbeing of all people – particularly the most disadvantaged, an inclusive green economy and people-centered governance system, and where people enjoy equal rights and opportunities.

"At the core of the framework is our pledge to leave no one behind and to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable people in Viet Nam", reiterated Pauline Tamesis.