STATEMENT BY H.E. TO LAM, PARTY GENERAL SECRETARY AND PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM at the General Debate of the Seventy-nineth Session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 24, 2024, New York, United States)
His Excellency President of the United Nations General Assembly. His Excellency Secretary-General of the United Nations, Distinguished delegates,
Let me first congratulate you, Your Excellency Philemon Yang, on your election as the President of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. I trust that this Session will be a great success.
I also commend His Excellency Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the General Assembly, and His Excellency António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, for their contributions and efforts in coordinating UN endeavors to prevent wars, maintain peace and promote global development cooperation.
Distinguished delegates,
The world is undergoing transformative changes of historic significance. Although peace, cooperation and development remain the dominant trends, they are facing new and more serious challenges. Strategic competition among major powers is becoming broader, fiercer and more confrontational. Political disputes, conflicts and security environment intensify. Survival and development space narrows. Risks of conflict, new hot spots, arm race, tension, confrontation and direct clashes increase.
The rise of power politics and egoistic nationalism are challenging international law and eroding multilateral institutions and diminishing faith in global cooperation. The vicious cycle of conflict and violence escalates in various regions, causing immense suffering to millions of innocent civilians. The risk of nuclear war, or even a third world war, has not been ruled out.
Non-traditional security challenges, such as climate change, extreme weather events, natural disasters, epidemics, resoure depletion, aging, etc. are becoming increasingly severe, hindering our efforts for development. Poor countries are being left further behind with an widening the development gap.
Super typhoon Yagi, which devastatingly ravaged Vietnam and other countries in the region, serves as a stark warning of the severe impact that natural disasters and climate change can have on sustainable development for all.
Global food production is sufficient to feed one and a half times the world population, yet famine threatens over 780 million people, and 2.4 billion people endure food insecurity. Defense expenditure has reached a record 2.4 trillion USD in 2023, yet we struggle to pool 100 billion USD for climate action. With only a third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) timeline remaining, 80% of the targets may not be met.
Global economic growth faces difficulties. Decoupling and fragmentation, along with economic pressures and sanctions, threaten rapid and sustainable development. The fourth industrial revolution offers opportunities for quantum progress, but it also poses security and safety challenges for society and individuals.
These unprecedented challenges to peace, cooperation, sustainable development and human dignity affect this generation and the next. They compel us to unite, act and work together, upholding the role of international institutions, foremost among them the United Nations, regional organizations, including ASEAN, to achieve the ultimate goal of ending war, abolishing all forms of oppression, exploitation, building peace and creating a better world to bring happiness to all humankind.
In this spirit, I would like to share Vietnam’s vision for a more peaceful, stable, cooperative, prosperous and sustainable future for everyone:
First, as peace and stability are the foundation of a prosperous future, we must promote the observance of international law and the UN Charter by all states, particularly the major powers. Each state must act responsibly, fulfill its commitments, and abide by international law and the UN Charter, including fundamental principles such as the peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity and respect for the political systems chosen by the people of each nation. States should also contribute to the common work of the international community in line with their capabilities. We must tirelessly strengthen solidarity, sincerity and trust among nations, uphold dialogue, eliminate confrontation and firmly oppose unilateral embargoes and sanctions that contravene international law and the UN Charter.
Second, we must ensure equitable development for every state, community, and individual, recognizing the diverse economic, social, and cultural conditions they may have. Every resource must be effectively unleashed, marshaled, and utilized for development according to each country's needs. We must prioritize resources where they are most needed for implementing the SDGs, with particular attention to assisting developing and less-developed countries, especially through preferential loans, transfer of advanced technologies, investment and trade facilitation, and debt relief for poor countries.
Third, we should urgently create smart global governance frameworks with long term vision for science and technology, particularly emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). This will ensure we make progress and enjoy the benefits of these technologies, while actively preventing and repelling threats to peace, sustainable development and humanity. In this regard, I welcome the documents adopted at the Summit for the Future, especially the Global Digital Compact. This will serve as a crucial basis for advancing global governance and international cooperation in these areas.
Fourth, we should adopt innovative thinking to build a transformative future across all sectors, focusing on digital transformation, green transition, and global governance transformation. Green transition and digital transformation are essential tools for countries, especially developing ones, to build resilience and self-reliance, enabling a timely and active prevention of and response to shocks, crises and potential disasters. We must also prioritize reforming multilateral mechanisms, especially the UN system and international financial and monetary institutions, to ensure better representation, equity and transparency. Enhancing their capability, effectiveness, and future-readiness is essential for remaining relevant in our changing world.
Fifth, we must place the human person at the centre in delivering on our visions. People should be the centre, goal and driver of all policies and actions at all levels. Investment should focus on the holistic development of the youth, enriching their knowledge and culture, grounded in shared values and a sense of responsibility and contribution.
Vietnam welcomes the UNGA's official decision to grant additional rights and privileges of the participation to the State of Palestine from this Session onwards. Vietnam reaffirms its solidarity with the State and People of Cuba and calls on the United States to lift embargoes and sanctions against Cuba and to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. These concrete and substantive actions are in the interest of equitable development and the well-being of all nations and must be vigorously pursued in the future.
Distinguished delegates,
President Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese hero of national liberation and eminent man of culture, once stressed “Unity, unity, great unity – Success, success, grand success”. Only through unity and cooperation, with trust and by thinking and acting as one, can we successfully build a world of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations, ensuring no one is left behind.
In today's rapidly changing world, each state plays a vital role in the grand orchestration of our era. Vietnam is making every effort to move forward toward a future of peace, stability, prosperity and sustainability—not only for our own people but also for all nations worldwide. This is Vietnam’s vision, goal and strong commitment to the international community, today and tomorrow.
Thank you for your attention.
