Vietnam, 1998

On behalf of the delegation of the Socialist

Republic of Viet Nam, I would like to extend our warmest

congratulations to you, Sir, upon your election as President

of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I am

convinced that under your wise guidance the work of this

session will be crowned with success.

I wish also to express our high appreciation to your

predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Y. Udovenko, for his major

contribution during the fifty-second session, which

benefited from his effectiveness as President. I warmly

congratulate the Secretary-General, His Excellency

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his active contribution over the past

year to the activities of the United Nations and to the

reform process.

An eventful year has elapsed since the fifty-second

session. While undergoing the intense and unpredictable

impact generated by the unprecedented financial and

monetary crisis, the world community has had to face

tremendous challenges emerging out of tensions and

conflicts in many corners of the world, out of policies of

hegemony and imposition, and out of social injustice and

the growing gap between rich and poor countries. However,

peace, stability and cooperation for development continue

to mark the prevailing international trend; that trend derives

from the age-old aspirations of humankind and, above all,

from the pressing demand of all peoples in the face of

today?s swiftly changing and complex world. That

prevailing trend is becoming all the more established in a

world context of growing interdependence and of the

speedier pace of globalization and regionalization. This

situation also presents the international community with as

many challenges as opportunities. It must therefore be

emphasized that least developed and developing countries

are also confronted with considerable challenges, and that

the world?s development takes place in a context of various

closely linked factors that have reciprocal impacts.

In the light of the many important advances that have

been made in science and technology, no one can deny the

role played by developed countries. But the overall

development of the integrated global economy cannot

occur without the active participation of developing

countries, which account for the majority of the members

of the international community.

Globalization is characterized principally by the

rapid expansion of trade and economic relations and the

swift movement of capital at the international level. We

must nevertheless acknowledge that despite the twelve-

fold growth in the global volume of trade since the end of

the Second World War, the share of developing countries

registered just a modest increase while that of least

developed countries has been halved in the last two

decades and currently stands at 0.4 per cent of the total

value of international trade. Since the world?s capital

moves faster than trade grows, developed countries are

the principal beneficiaries of these resources, with the rest

going to a limited number of developing countries.

In an environment of economic opening up,

characterized by the growing liberalization of trade and

investment, developing countries — having

undercapitalized industries, less efficient management and

dilapidated equipment — have to confront unequal and

relentless competition in which absolute superiority is

enjoyed by countries that have advanced technologies at

their disposal and to multinational corporations whose

revenues are sometimes even higher than the gross

national product of some countries. Undoubtedly, this

cannot but cause concern to the developing and least

developed countries that are beginning their global and

regional economic integration.

Additionally, although the current financial and

monetary crisis began in East Asia, it is no longer an East

Asian phenomenon, but has spread like an oil slick to the

rest of the world and now resembles a dangerous storm

causing unpredictable losses across many countries in

different continents. This illustrates the negative side

effects of globalization and provides additional proof of

the fact that the greater the rate of globalization, the more

interrelated both developed and developing economies

become and the more they influence one another.

This situation calls for the international community?s

programme of action to include mutual cooperation

between the developed countries and developing and least

developed countries; and among countries that have

strong economies, international institutions and the

countries in crisis. It is only through this basic approach

of mutual assistance that developing countries and

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countries in crisis will have an opportunity to join in the

efforts of the developed countries to overcome the problems

and make the global economy?s growth more stable, which

in the long run will benefit everyone. Obviously, such

cooperation and mutual assistance must be based on mutual

interest and respect. It can certainly be said that in a

situation of generalized crisis, going to someone else?s aid

means saving oneself.

We believe that in adopting this approach, developing

countries and countries in crisis should fully exploit their

own domestic strengths and mobilize their existing potential

to speed up and take advantage of international aid and

cooperation. As far as external aid is concerned, we believe

that the individual conditions of each recipient country

should be taken into account in order to avoid the

imposition of any remedy that might worsen its situation

and cause unforeseen effects to social stability.

Furthermore, we are convinced that in implementing these

measures to stimulate liberalization, attention should be

paid to the diversity of the global economy, as well as to

the heterogeneous nature of national and regional

economies. This is the only approach capable of ensuring

the efficiency of our cooperation, the beneficial quality of

our ties and our common prosperity.

In this light, we would like to express the following

hopes.

More than ever, developed countries should facilitate

access to their markets, accord most-favoured-nation status

to developing countries — especially those countries which

have been ravaged by the crisis or are suffering from its

consequences — and include them in the Generalized

System of Preferences. They should also support developing

and least developed countries.

It is more necessary than ever to maintain the level of

official development assistance. This is not only necessary

to halt the downward trend, but also for donor countries to

seek to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of

gross national product devoted to development by donor

countries. Moreover, this assistance is considered important

for developing countries because it allows them to

strengthen their energy resources and contributes to building

both their economic and social infrastructures, elements

which are essential for development and in order to attract

foreign investments.

The role of multilateral institutions — particularly that

of the United Nations — is very important in resolving the

long- and short-term problems of developing nations.

However, it is regrettable that United Nations assistance

to developing countries is continuing to decline. We

therefore welcome the adoption of measures by the

United Nations to improve the quality of its development

cooperation, as well as the initiative of the Secretary-

General to create a Development Account using the

savings realized from reductions in administrative costs.

The United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), along with other international organizations and

bilateral and multilateral donors, is currently working to

find solutions to the urgent problems of developing and

least developed countries. Viet Nam has in recent years

benefited from their considerable assistance, which ranged

from restructuring the economy into a market economy to

specific activities in different areas of society, particularly

in the battle to eliminate famine and reduce poverty.

More recently, the effective support provided by the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

(FAO) through the implementation of a tripartite

agricultural cooperation mechanism agreed among FAO

itself, Viet Nam and certain African countries has yielded

encouraging results. We hope that on the basis of that

experience, the United Nations will focus more on

development issues and create conditions that are more

favourable for providing assistance to the developing and

less developed countries.

In recent years, we have witnessed the formation and

expansion of linkages among countries at the regional,

interregional, intercontinental and global levels. These

multi-level linkages among States also give rise to

favourable conditions for all nations to exploit their

comparative advantages, and they give impetus to

increased mutual assistance among various partners,

which leads to more equitable and sustainable growth

within each region as well as among regions.

Peace, stability and development are closely

interrelated, like companions on the road to prosperity.

Our own experience has taught us that a peaceful

environment and political and social stability are

indispensable for a nation to devote itself to achieving

economic development. In turn, a more developed

economy and improved living standards help strengthen

political and social stability and thus preserve peace.

Two opposing tendencies have characterized the

world security situation since the fifty-second session. On

the one hand, numerous events have shown a continuing

trend of peace and improved relations among countries,

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as evidenced by fact that the peaceful settlement of certain

decades-long conflicts is under way and that relations

among nations, including major Powers, continue to

improve. On the other hand, we are witnessing on a daily

basis bloodshed and confrontation in many regions, from

the Middle East to Africa, from the Balkans to South Asia,

and so on.

The arms race continues unabated. One terrorist act

follows on the heels of another. The list of countries to be

“punished” is not getting any shorter, and the direct victims

continue to be the elderly and women and children. Our

planet is thus not yet out of the reach of the Damocles

sword of insecurity.

The painful lessons of the twentieth century — a

century replete with conflicts and wars, including the two

World Wars, which claimed tens of millions of lives — and

the burning desire of humankind for a better life on the eve

of the new century require that we all redouble our efforts

to achieve a solid and lasting peace.

In today?s world, such a peace will be achieved only

if every people and every State — large or small, rich or

poor, wherever its location — make every effort in jointly

working towards it. Such a peace can be achieved only if

it is based on a strict observance in international relations

of the principle of respect for independence, sovereignty

and territorial integrity; non-intervention in one another?s

internal affairs; the non-use or threat of use of force; and

sanctions.

Such a peace will be established only when the goal

of total disarmament is achieved, first and foremost through

the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. In this

spirit, all States must put an end to the production, testing,

stockpiling, proliferation, use or threat of use of these

weapons.

South-East Asia, as an integral part of the planet, is

affected by current global developments. In these last 50

years, it has been a hotbed of conflicts and disputes and the

scene of numerous bloody wars and crises. But today

South-East Asia?s luck is changing, and an atmosphere of

peace, stability and cooperation for development prevails.

The membership of the Association of South-East

Asian Nations (ASEAN) has increased, bringing it closer to

its goal of 10 member countries and helping to put an end

to the region?s historical divisions. The South-East Asia

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty has been signed.

Nevertheless, problems remain, including sovereignty

disputes in the South China Sea, that must be resolved in

order to ensure peace and stability for all countries in the

region. We believe, however, that tensions can be avoided

if all parties concerned practise self-restraint; refrain from

aggravating the situation; ensure freedom of international

maritime transportation; settle their disputes through

negotiation on the basis of respect for international law,

particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea; and, in the immediate future, seek to

identify patterns of cooperation acceptable to all sides.

This is in line with the all-out efforts by the countries of

the region to build neighbourly relationships of friendship

and cooperation based on the principle of mutual respect.

In this spirit, as Cambodia?s immediate neighbour,

we welcome the success beyond expectations of the

Cambodian elections last July, which were recognized to

be free and fair by the entire international community.

We sincerely hope that this will lead to the early

formation of a new government in Cambodia that will set

the Cambodian people on the road to building and

developing their country in conditions of peace and

stability.

Regrettably, East Asia in general and South-East

Asia in particular, reputed in past decades to be the

world?s most dynamic economic growth area, are

suffering an unprecedentedly serious crisis. This has led

certain people hastily to declare the demise of the miracle

of the East Asian development model and even go so far

as to reject “Asian values”. I would humbly suggest that

such views are groundless. Indeed, the current crisis in

East Asia is neither the first nor the last in the history of

the market economy. Although some errors were made,

the East Asia and South-East Asia development model

has already provided quite a few valuable experiences and

useful lessons.

Are not the virtues of studiousness, industriousness,

thrift, intelligence, creativity and caring for one another

eternal and universal values? Moreover, there remain

substantial economic foundations, unique cultures and the

achievements of the people of the region realized thanks

to their hard work and creativity — not to mention other

positive factors, such as the region?s abundant natural

resources, large internal market and major role in world

politics and economics.

The existence and growth of the Association of

South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been another

positive factor in the development of South-East Asia.

Despite difficulties and challenges, ASEAN continues to

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become more unified, promote cooperation and play an

active role in Asia and the Pacific and the world, not only

through intensive interactions with dialogue partners and

other international and regional organizations, but also by

means of its vigorous work in different multilateral forums:

the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia/Europe Meeting, the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned

Movement and the United Nations itself.

After successfully hosting the seventh summit of the

French-speaking community in November 1997, Viet Nam

has the great honour to again play host — this time to the

sixth ASEAN Summit, which will be held in Hanoi this

December. The Summit, whose theme will be strengthening

unity and broadening cooperation for a South-East Asia of

peace, stability and balanced development, will adopt the

Hanoi declaration and plan of action, which will guide

South-East Asia as it enters the next century.

As a result of the factors I have outlined, we are

firmly convinced that South-East Asia will soon overcome

its difficulties and regain its previous pace of growth, and

that the international community will continue to regard the

region as a promising and reliable partner.

To build peace and promote development, it is

urgently important to reform the United Nations, to make

it more democratic and better adapted to confront the

profound changes that have taken place in the world in the

50 years since the Organization was founded. We all agree

that it is essential to reform the Security Council so that it

will be more democratic, more transparent and more

accountable to the General Assembly, the biggest and most

representative forum of the community of nations. Viet

Nam and its Non-Aligned Movement partners are

committed to the position that the developing countries

should be represented in the Security Council through

permanent membership. In view of the legitimate interests

of potential candidates, Viet Nam will support the rotation

formula if a majority of countries accept it. Our country

also supports the proposed limiting of the right of the

veto — prior to abolishing it — to decisions relating to

issues provided for under Chapter VII of the Charter.

This year the international community will celebrate

the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. We have always regarded the Declaration

as a great achievement of the world?s peoples in their long

struggle for fundamental rights, the most important of

which are the right to live in peace, independence,

prosperity and happiness, and with social justice, and the

right to self-determination. It is unfortunate that the issue of

human rights has sometimes been twisted to serve as a

pretext for intervening and interfering in other countries?

affairs. In this regard, Viet Nam greatly appreciates the

position the Non-Aligned Movement expressed in the

Durban Declaration, during its recent twelfth summit

meeting, that human rights should not

“be used as a political instrument for interference in

internal affairs. ... They require an environment of

peace and development, respect for sovereignty,

territorial integrity and non-interference in the

internal affairs of States. Socio-economic rights,

including the right to development, are inextricably

part of real human rights.”

Having suffered humiliation under foreign domination,

having been ridiculed and having sacrificed innumerable

lives in order to regain their human rights and dignity,

our people will spare no effort to hold on to the

fundamental rights they have regained.

To achieve the objective of becoming a prosperous

people, a strong State and a just and developed society,

the Vietnamese people are, and will remain, resolved to

pursue their policy of renewal and to industrialize and

modernize the country. To do this and promote peace,

cooperation and development, Viet Nam will continue to

pursue its foreign policy in support of independence,

sovereignty, openness, multilateralism, diversification of

foreign relations, and gradual global and regional

integration. Thus Viet Nam will always be an active

member of international and regional organizations. It will

continue to contribute to the United Nations efforts for

peace and development, particularly in its capacity as a

newly elected member of the Economic and Social

Council.

Humanity enters the new millennium with earnest

hopes for a better and more prosperous life. At this

historic turning point, we expect the United Nations to

make greater efforts to achieve lasting peace and a

climate of international cooperation supportive of the

development of every nation. Viet Nam will spare no

effort to contribute fully to the achievement of that lofty

goal.