President Tran Dai Quang expressed his pleasure at the development of the relationship between Vietnam and the UN in the past five years during the tenure of UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta. 

President Tran Dai Quang shakes hand with UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta.

At a reception for the out-going UN Resident Coordinator in Hanoi on October 21, the President said many projects were implemented with good results within the framework of the Joint Plan on Vietnam-UN Cooperation for 2012-2016, contributing to Vietnam’s social-economic development. 

He stressed that Vietnam welcomed the support of the UN in general and the UN Development Programme in particular in the final stage of completing Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and building National MDGs Reports. 

He also acknowledged UN agencies’ help to Vietnam in building and preparing to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

President Tran Dai Quang affirmed that Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the UN, and ready to take part in the UN’s joint efforts for peace, security and development as well as to reform the UN. 

He noted that in 2014, Vietnam sent soldiers to participate in the UN peacekeeping force and successfully fulfilled its role as a member of the UN Human Rights Council in the 2014-2016 tenure and the UN Economic-Social Council (ECOSOC) in the first year of its tenure. 

The inauguration of the Green One UN House in May, 2015, was also a highlight in the Vietnam-UN relationship as it helped boost the uniformity and cooperation across UN agencies in Vietnam, the President said. 

He added that Vietnam appreciated UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Vietnam in May, 2015 and visits of many senior leaders of the UN Secretariat during the past five years.

The President lauded Pratibha Mehta’s relentless and continuous efforts in coordinating and ensure good coordination among UN agencies in supporting Vietnam as well as in directing attention from UN senior leaders and the community of donors to Vietnam. 

On her part, on behalf of UN agencies in Vietnam, Pratibha Mehta thanked Vietnamese ministries and agencies for their cooperation with UN agencies. 

She affirmed that Vietnam has an increasingly important position and voice at the UN, as the country’s contributions, particularly in poverty alleviation and realising the MDGs, have created trust in the international community. 

She pledged that UN agencies will help Vietnam address its priority issues in a broader cooperation model.-VNA