Vietnam calls for prevention of water-related conflicts

Vietnam has called upon the UN Security Council to play an active role in preventing water-related conflicts, upholding international law and frameworks that help protect water security and water infrastructures, particularly the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of the Vietnam Mission to the UN (Photo: VNA)
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of the Vietnam Mission to the UN (Photo: VNA)

The statement was made by Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of Vietnam’s permanent mission to the United Nations, at the Security Council Open Debate on ‘Water, Peace, and Security’ on November 22.

Affirming the importance of water, Nga said that the inclusion of water in Sustainable Development Goals demonstrates the broad recognition that water is essential for the well-being of humankind, food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.


According to the ambassador, Vietnam is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It suffers from both floods and severe drought. The country largely depends on trans-boundary water resources (63% of Vietnam’s water resources come from neighbouring countries).

“Therefore, we highly value international, regional and sub-regional cooperation frameworks on the management and the use of trans-boundary water resources,” she stated.

Developed countries need to support developing countries in technology transfer, capacity building in water management and responding to the impacts of climate change on water resources, she added.

Ambassador Nga also mentioned cooperation mechanisms in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) such as the GMS Cooperation, the Mekong River Commission (MRC), ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC), the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), the Summit Meeting between Japan and the Mekong River Basin Countries,

“We hope that the international community will continue to support Mekong cooperation for peace, security and sustainable development in the region, with full respect for the interests of Mekong countries and the balance of economic, social and environmental dimensions,” she said.