Vietnam, 1997

On behalf of the

Vietnamese delegation, I wish to warmly congratulate you,

Sir, on your election to the presidency of the fifty-second

session of the General Assembly. I am confident that under

your wise guidance this session will be crowned with many

fine results.

I should like also to express the appreciation of the

Vietnamese delegation for the active work done by

Mr. Razali Ismail, President of the fifty-first session of the

General Assembly, a session that marked new strides on the

United Nations journey to fulfil its mandate in contributing

to peace and development in the world as a whole.

May I take this opportunity to warmly congratulate

Mr. Kofi Annan, who, within a very short span of time

since assuming the very important post of Secretary-

General of the United Nations, has managed to accomplish

a large amount of work, including efforts related to reform

of the United Nations in the light of the profound changes

in the world, in response to the aspirations of peoples with

regard to our global Organization.

Mankind is rushing towards the end of the twentieth

century and preparing to enter the third millennium with

an earnest desire for a more tranquil and better life. That

desire becomes even more earnest when we look back at

the last century, a century that has been darkened by the

black clouds of two world wars and countless conflicts,

large and small. That desire becomes even more urgent

given that the boundless mind of man has produced

numerous miraculous inventions, opening up a new era

called the “post-industrial era” or “the information age”,

while more than a quarter of the developing world’s

population still lives in poverty, some 840 million go

hungry or face food insecurity, and even in industrial

countries more than 100 million people live below the

poverty line and 37 million are jobless.

Under these circumstances, it is understandable that

all nations see the need to consolidate peace and promote

development as their primary priority so as to turn the

twenty-first century into a century with fewer conflicts

and less poverty.

Peace and development are companions; they go

together like the two sides of a coin. Sustainable

development is only possible if it is built upon the solid

premise of a durable peace: peace for all nations, peace

for every region and peace for the entire planet. Here, we

fully subscribe to the views expressed in the Agenda for

Development: development is a prerequisite for peace,

and at the same time peace is a precondition for

development.

We may take satisfaction from the fact that, during the

past year, a series of events have shown that the trend

towards peace is continuing. Political solutions have been

found for a number of decades-old conflicts. Relations

between various nations, including the big Powers, have

seen some partial improvements. Following in the footsteps

of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force.

The South-East Asia nuclear-weapon-free zone

(SEANWFZ) has come into existence.

In spite of all this, the world’s people still cannot be

assured of a lasting peace if that peace is not constructed

on an equitable premise. It is truly unfair that a few

countries are entitled to maintain an absolute superiority,

which even enables them to use their power to impose their

will on other countries, while many countries have to live

in the fear of insecurity. In this context, we hold that there

is still a need to free our planet from the burden of nuclear

weapons, to ban, totally and resolutely, the production,

storage, threat and use of this most horrible and lethal type

of weapon. In the same context, we expect the nuclear-

weapon States to sign the protocol annexed to the

SEANWFZ soon, in order to strengthen the power of the

Treaty, thereby making a viable contribution to peace and

stability in South-East Asia.

Our world cannot have peace when conflicts are still

raging in various parts of our planet. Today, the Middle

East is again raising the deep concern of everyone. We

share the position that tremendous efforts are needed to

lead us to a durable and lasting peace for that region, which

has suffered too much and too long. Such a peace can be

achieved only on the basis of ensuring the safety of the

nations living in this region, respecting the fundamental

rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to

establish an independent Palestinian State, and, most

immediately, the strict implementation of the United

Nations resolutions and the principles of the Madrid

Conference, as well as the accords that have been

concluded.

In Asia and the Pacific in general and in South-East

Asia in particular, where, fortunately, stability is on the

rise, incremental efforts are being made to render this trend

more durable. As a country bordering Cambodia, we give

great attention to the situation in that neighbouring nation.

Our position on the Cambodian question is clear to all: in

conformity with our general foreign policy, we persevere in

upholding the principle of full respect for the independence

and sovereignty of nations and the principle that the affairs

of a country must be decided by the people of that country

itself, free from foreign interference. At the same time,

from the bottom of our heart, we wish the Cambodian

people peace and stability so that they can reconstruct a

prosperous country in their homeland. We sincerely wish

to tirelessly foster relations of friendship and cooperation

with the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Bordering the South China Sea, which we call the

Eastern Sea, Viet Nam has always considered that

disputes there should be settled by negotiation on the

basis of international law, particularly the 1982 United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, with a view

to achieving a sustainable and lasting solution. For the

time being, it is necessary to preserve the status quo,

exert self-restraint and abstain from acts that may further

compound the situation and prejudice the stability of the

region and the safety of international maritime navigation.

At the same time, we should seek cooperation measures

acceptable to the parties concerned. We share the

satisfaction at the recent positive developments related to

the situation in the Korean peninsula, and it is our wish

that these developments will lead to a durable peace in

this very sensitive part of our world.

Although peace is the most important condition for

development, peace alone, without cooperation among

States on the basis of equality and mutual respect and

benefits, is not adequate. Today, in a world of ever-

deepening interdependence, and under the impact of

globalization and regionalization trends, the need for

development cooperation is increasingly strong.

It is obvious that nations are facing unprecedented

opportunities for expanding markets, engaging more

partners and intensifying investment and technology

transfers in order to attain higher growth. Besides this,

there is a rather stark reality, especially for developing

countries: the process of liberalization has made

competition extremely acute, and in that competition the

advantages do not go to countries which, due to certain

circumstances, are still at a low level of economic

development. It is therefore no surprise that the gap

between the rich and poor countries is widening, causing

great losses to developing nations.

That situation gives the international community two

choices: either to let things go on, which will cause a

more serious crisis, affecting the global economic and

political situation; or to cooperate for shared development.

In our humble opinion, the first scenario is not beneficial

to anybody, while the latter brings about benefit for everybody.

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With that perception, we are of the view that it is

necessary to reverse the trend of decreasing official

development assistance, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

With that perception, we look forward to stronger

technology transfers, because outstanding and rapid

scientific and technological progress is presenting a danger

of developing countries being left further behind.

With that perception, we would like to emphasize the

need to set up reasonable trade terms, taking into account

the difficulties faced by developing countries, and to ensure

that the developed countries broaden market access for

commodities from the developing countries.

With that perception, we believe that it is high time to

completely do away with the obsolete ways of thinking and

acting of the past, namely, the imposition of inequitable

terms of economic and trade relations, sanctions and

embargoes, and so forth, which distort international

relations, cause suffering to the people and seriously violate

the minimum right of human beings — the right to a

peaceful life.

Under the general circumstances of our world today,

the need to reform the United Nations has become more

and more imperative. We share many of the ideas that the

Secretary-General has put forth. In our opinion, besides its

contribution to the maintenance of peace, the promotion of

equitable international cooperation — a top priority on the

agenda of the United Nations — must mean more vigorous

assistance to development. We offer our strong support for

the ideas stated in the Secretary-General’s report,

“Renewing the United Nations: a programme for reform”

(A/51/950), which particularly underlined that the

promotion of economic development and development

cooperation was the primary mandate and function of the

United Nations. It is our hope that countries, especially the

developed ones, will enhance their contribution to the

development programmes of the United Nations.

On this occasion, I wish to express our high

appreciation to the institutions of the United Nations system

for the assistance extended to Viet Nam, especially for our

economic renovation to implement social programmes of

poverty alleviation, health care and education development,

and international integration. The commitment to further

enhance the efficiency of the partnership between Viet Nam

and the United Nations development system was made by

the two partners at the conference to review 20 years of

Viet Nam-United Nations cooperation, which took place

recently in Hanoi.

With regard to the United Nations structure, our

consistent view is that it should reflect the fundamental

changes that have been taking place during the last half-

century or more, the most notable highlight of which is

that over 100 independent States have joined the United

Nations. Its organizational structure and working

procedures could be more democratized. The stature of

developing countries needs to be strongly enhanced,

including in the Security Council, and at the same time,

the role of the General Assembly should be further

strengthened. Along those lines, we share the view that it

is necessary to increase the membership of the Security

Council, both permanent and non-permanent categories,

with a satisfactory number of seats given to developing

countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and to

ensure that every Member assumes similar responsibilities

and rights. We believe that in order to work out a

comprehensive programme for United Nations reform a

Committee of the Whole should be established.

The National Assembly of Viet Nam has just held

the first session of its tenth term in Hanoi to elect the

highest dignitaries of our State and approve the list of

new government members, thus realizing important

continuity of generations of leadership. This National

Assembly is of special significance, as it will lead our

country into the twenty-first century on the road of all-

round renovation to attain the goal of “Wealthy people,

strong country, just and civilized society”, through the

process of national industrialization and modernization, in

order to turn Viet Nam into a basically industrialized

State by the year 2020.

In its foreign relations, Viet Nam will constantly

pursue an open foreign policy of independence,

diversification and the promotion of multilateral relations

along the line of gradual regional and international

integration, thus making worthy contributions to the cause

of peace, national independence, democracy and social

progress. In line with this policy, Viet Nam will continue

to stand as an active Member of the United Nations and

the Non-Aligned Movement. In line with this policy, Viet

Nam is making constructive contributions to the

intensification of cooperation within the Association of

South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is actively

preparing the sixth ASEAN Summit to be held in Hanoi

at the end of next year. In line with this policy, Viet Nam

is competing with time to ensure the successful

organization of the forthcoming seventh summit of

French-speaking community in Hanoi. In line with this

policy, Viet Nam is sparing no effort in making practical

preparations to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic

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Cooperation Council and the World Trade Organization.

Also in line with this policy, Viet Nam wishes to become

a member of the United Nations Economic and Social

Council at the elections to be held at this session of the

General Assembly. We are confident that this reasonable

wish of ours will meet with the generous support of

Member countries.

As we strive for the noble aspirations of peace and

development on the eve of the new century, countries in the

international community will continue to find in Viet Nam

a sincere friend and constructive companion. On our part,

we expect that United Nations activities will be ever more

effective in enabling all countries to work for shared

development in peace and partnership.