On October 11, during his participation in the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related meetings in Vientiane, Laos, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister praised the role of the UN Secretary-General and UN agencies in maintaining global peace, stability, closing development gaps, and promoting growth.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude for the valuable cooperation and support the United Nations has provided to Vietnam during its nearly 40 years of reform and development.

Affirming that Vietnam values and supports the central role of the United Nations in global governance, the Prime Minister emphasized Vietnam's commitment to multilateralism, international law, and its active contribution to global efforts to promote dialogue, cooperation, and participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

The Prime Minister also requested that the United Nations continue to support Vietnam in enhancing its disaster resilience, climate change adaptation, and energy transition efforts.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised Vietnam as a model of peace and sustainable development, calling the country a "star of ASEAN" and commending its contributions to raising the voice and role of developing countries.

He expressed his desire to closely collaborate with Vietnam in implementing the key outcomes of the Summit for the Future and encouraged Vietnam to continue leading global efforts to promote peace, stability, and inclusive, sustainable development.

The Secretary-General agreed with Prime Minister Chinh's "whole-of-society, all-inclusive" approach to addressing global challenges such as natural disasters, climate change, population aging, and resource depletion.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen ASEAN-UN relations, emphasizing ASEAN's role as a bridge to foster dialogue and cooperation amid rising global and regional conflicts.

On the same day, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a brief meeting with Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, who was attending the summit.

The Prime Minister proposed that the two countries work toward achieving $18 billion in bilateral trade in a more balanced manner and facilitate business investments in each other's markets.

He also urged Indonesia to continue coordinating with Vietnam to minimize illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and to treat each other's fishing vessels and fishermen humanely, in line with their Strategic Partnership and ASEAN solidarity.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin discussed the upcoming generational change in Indonesia's leadership and emphasized that bilateral cooperation between the two countries would not only remain unchanged but continue to grow more comprehensively.

Quang Phong