Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head ofVietnam's permanent missionto the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland

Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UNOffice at Geneva, participated in the August 14 plenary session for the firsttime as Secretary General of the CD and individual representative of the UNSecretary General.

At the end of the plenary session on August 15, Ambassador Dung evaluated the outcomes of the conference to build a properworking agenda in the future.

With the endeavours of Vietnam as president ofthe CD and the cooperation of member countries, participants discussedpractical issues, which will be important components for the working agenda ofthe CD in the following years, he said.

Vietnam’s presidency declaration andrecommendations for building the conference’s working agenda will be circulatedas official documents, he added.

Member countries said Vietnam was successful inbringing a positive, balanced and constructive atmosphere for bilateral andmultilateral consultation as well as skilfully operating the plenary sessionsfacilitating countries to exchange their viewpoints on many sensitive issues.

Vietnam proposed the principle of continuity andpromoting consultations with the presidents of the CD in 2020, which received supportfrom other countries and was considered an important activity that should becarried out by the next president nations.

The attendance of many senior speakers from theUN Office in Geneva, the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN), theAustrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test BanTreaty Organisation (CTBTIO), as well as ambassadors from CD member countriesand disarmament experts expressed admiration for Vietnam’s presidency.

Vietnam’s initiative to invite ASEAN SecretaryGeneral to deliver a speech at the CD was highly valued by countries as ithelped create a new dialogue channel between the CD and regional organisations.

Concluding the conference, Ambassador Dungexpressed his hope and belief that Vietnam’s constructive work during itspresidency will help the disarmament conference achieve practical outcomes inthe near future.-VNA