Vietnam, 2006

Madam

President, at the outset, on behalf of the Vietnamese

delegation, may I extend our warmest congratulations

to you, the third woman in United Nations history to be

elected as President of the General Assembly. I am

confident that, under your wise leadership, this sixty-

first session will be crowned with success. I also wish

to convey our deep appreciation for the tremendous

efforts undertaken and active contributions made by

His Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson during his presidency

of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session.

As His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan’s last term of

duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations comes

to a close, I wish, on behalf of the Vietnamese

Government, to express our deep appreciation for his

dedication and commitment to our Organization. His

visit to Viet Nam last May was another milestone in the

history of the ever-growing Viet Nam-United Nations

cooperative relationship.

The 2005 World Summit lit up our hopes for the

achievement by the international community of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out by our

leaders at the Millennium Summit in 2000. One year

has elapsed, and, regrettably, the picture of the world

we see today is made up of paradoxes. Although the

trend of peace, cooperation and development continues

to prevail, so do the unilateral use of force, escalation

of regional and ethnic conflicts and international

terrorism. We have also seen serious hardships faced

by developing countries under the pressure of

globalization, and inequality in international economic

relations. Poverty, epidemics, drugs and transnational

crime pose even greater threats to hundreds of millions

of people around the world.

Against this backdrop, in the view of the

Vietnamese delegation, continued joint efforts to create

a favourable environment for the achievement of the

MDGs are even more imperative. We consider the

theme chosen for this sixty-first session of the General

Assembly, focusing on global partnership for

development, to be highly relevant.

Peace and socio-political stability are

indispensable to development. In turn, positive

economic development and improved living standards

of people help to consolidate peace and stability in

every country and region and the world as a whole. It

is essential that nations work together to settle

differences and disputes through dialogue, abandon the

use of force in their relations and fully comply with the

United Nations Charter and international law in order

to build a peaceful and stable environment in the

interest of all.

I wish to reaffirm Viet Nam’s strong support for

efforts to reach early peaceful settlements of

international and regional conflicts and differences,

including the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula

and in Iran, and the crisis in the Middle East, where the

recent hostilities in Lebanon, which caused heavy loss

of innocent life and destruction of the country’s

infrastructure, serve as a typical example of harm

brought about by unilateral actions.

In this connection, I wish to state Viet Nam’s

consistent policy of supporting the just struggle of the

Palestinian people for their inalienable rights. I call on

all parties concerned to implement the United Nations

33 06-53341

Security Council resolutions on the Middle East,

including resolution 1701 (2006), and soon arrive at a

fair and lasting solution for peace and stability in the

region.

Viet Nam is deeply concerned by the upsurge of

terrorism in the world. We will continue to support the

joint efforts of the international community to combat

terrorism on the basis of the fundamental principles of

the United Nations Charter and international law, as

well as respect for national sovereignty. The deep roots

of terrorism, including poverty, inequality and

injustice, must be eliminated. What should also be

mentioned here is the unfortunate reality that, in many

cases, the suppression of terrorist organizations,

including those targeting Viet Nam, is being

undertaken selectively, with double standards. It is our

view that such conduct may leave room for more

international terrorist acts.

Achievements in science and technology,

especially information technology, and globalization

have brought about great opportunities for all

countries. They have also brought about the dark side

of international economic relations. A widened

development gap between the rich and the poor poses

potential threats to world peace and security. In the

Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit, our

leaders called for the establishment of a global

partnership for development to enhance cooperation in

all financial, trade and investment areas and called for

increased assistance to developing countries,

considering that such steps by the international

community would contribute to establishing a

favourable environment for the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Such global partnership is yet to be seen, and we

are concerned with increasing adverse impacts of

globalization. The failure of the Doha Round, the

strengthening of protectionism in a number of

developed countries and fluctuating oil and gold prices

are causing more and more difficulties for developing

nations in their efforts to achieve the MDGs. A typical

example of this situation is the anti-dumping tariff

imposed on Vietnamese catfish and shrimp in past

years and on footwear at present; this measure is

affecting the lives of millions of poor people. It runs

counter to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and

the spirit of trade liberalization pursued by Member

States. It should also be pointed out that the increased

integration of developing nations in the world economy

is indeed an important element in ensuring the

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs).

Developing countries should be supported and

assisted to join the World Trade Organization (WTO)

as early as possible. Non-tariff barriers under the guise

of hygiene and safety standards, among others, should

be removed to facilitate developing countries to access

the markets of the developed economies. We have on

many occasions expressed our view that, in our times,

embargo and sanctions are completely obsolete

policies. We once again call for an early lifting of the

unilateral economic and trade embargo against Cuba.

Viet Nam welcomes the fact that a number of

countries have set up road maps to allocate 0.7 per cent

of their gross national product to official development

assistance without any conditions. Technology transfer,

capacity-building and human resource development

should be further promoted. We welcome initiatives to

settle the debts of poor countries, the solutions outlined

in the Monterrey Consensus and the recent efforts of

the international community towards this end. The

United Nations should work out, especially at the

national level, measures to further incorporate the

MDGs in the implementation of global commitments

undertaken during the past decade in the areas of

women, children, population, development, HIV/AIDS

prevention, housing, environment and social

development.

Viet Nam supports efforts to strengthen

multilateral mechanisms in which the United Nations

plays a central role with a view to building and

ensuring a peaceful and stable environment in the

world. The United Nations should be reformed to

improve its effectiveness, democratization and modes

of operation on the basis of the fundamental principles

enshrined in its Charter.

While welcoming initial successes in the United

Nations reform process, such as the establishment of

the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding

Commission, we realize that much remains to be done.

Measures are needed to consolidate the central role and

power of the General Assembly. The Security Council

should also be reformed in both its composition and

methods of work to ensure that it really represents the

concerns and interests of all United Nations Members

as stipulated in the Charter.

06-53341 34

Viet Nam has made remarkable progress in

implementing the MDGs and we are in a good position

to meet the 2015 deadline. Based on our own

experience, we believe that each country should, first

and foremost, strive to create and maintain a peaceful

environment for development, mobilize broad

participation by people of all walks of life in poverty

reduction efforts and reserve preferential treatments for

the poor, vulnerable groups and people living in remote

and difficult areas, with a view to helping them catch

up with the majority. Furthermore, effective prevention

of natural disasters and mitigation of their

consequences are crucial factors.

To create a peaceful environment for national

development, Viet Nam will continue with its foreign

policy of sovereign independence, peace, cooperation

and development. We continue to be a friend and

reliable partner of all countries in the international

community striving for peace and cooperation and we

will continue to actively participate in regional and

international cooperation.

We are in the final stage leading to accession to

the World Trade Organization. Viet Nam is also

running for non-permanent membership of the United

Nations Security Council for the term 2008-2009. In

pursuing our policy of international integration and in

contributing to the common endeavours of the

international community, we look forward to continued

support from all Members of the United Nations.