The article said despite a resurgence of Covid-19 and the Delta variant, the nation’s self-image was boosted in its rotating role as a non-permanent member of the UNSC and presidency in April 2021, and ability and confidence to steer signature events and peace building efforts.

The article published by The Washington Times.

Vietnam was first elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2008-2009 term. In 2020, the nation for the second time in history secured the post with 192 out of 193 votes.

The article highlighted that Vietnam’s ascendancy in international security has been broadly witnessed in its role in hosting the 2017 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting and the 2019 DPRK-US Summit. Although the second summit failed to bridge any solution on the disarmament of a global nuclear threat, Vietnam emerged as a recognised peace builder in what is generally regarded as a niche position in reconciliation or mediation diplomacy, it said.

According to the author, Vietnam’s remarkable repositioning as a middle power and evolving role as a peace builder demonstrates the nation’s growing confidence to play a key meditation role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on regional security issues. Vietnam has successfully adopted the correct market institutions that have led to more than two decades of impressive economic performance.

UN member nations have applauded Vietnam’s role in promoting the struggles for national independence, sovereignty, and self-determination. Vietnam’s remarkable journey from low to middle-income status lifted over 40 million people out of poverty between 1993 and 2014.

The nation’s successful march to the UN was accelerated by steps taken from 1995 to 1999, including the normalisation of diplomatic and trade relations with the US, and cooperation with multilateral donors like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The article noted despite spending a half century at war, Vietnam has lost no time in supporting UN initiatives that highlight the fundamental principles of international laws and the Charter in addressing international conflicts through peaceful measures.

This has been most evident in the nation’s successful efforts to join the UN peacekeeping operations in early 2014 and its active engagement in training personnel to dispatch officers to take part in peacekeeping activities in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The author wrote that Vietnam has been championing multilateralism and respect for international law and the UN Charter, quoting Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as saying: “We are duty-bound to strengthen and reinvigorate the world’s largest multilateral organisation, particularly in the face of the immense challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.”

In addition, over the past three decades, Vietnam has been recognised as a responsible member of the international community, particularly in supporting UN Climate Change Initiatives and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Vietnam impresses as an active UN member

As a proactive and active member of the United Nations, Vietnam has made increasingly substantive contributions to the organisation’s activities.

Additional Vietnamese female officer assigned to UN peacekeeping mission

The Ministry of National Defence (MOD) held a ceremony in Hanoi on August 17 to hand over the State President’s decision on assigning Lieut. Col. Vu Thi Kim Oanh to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Engagement in UN peacekeeping operations raises Vietnam’s prestige

Vietnam’s engagement in UN peacekeeping operations over the past seven years has helped raise the country’s prestige and position in the world and win praise from the UN, international friends and local people, according to Major General Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Third Vietnamese military officer to work at UN headquarters

The Defence Ministry held a ceremony on April 9 to present the President’s decision to send Major Nguyen Phuc Dong from the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, to take up a position at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Source: NDO/VNA