Working trips by President to Cuba and the United Nations delivered a strong message from Viet Nam’s foreign policy to the world 

Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

The state visit to Cuba from September 18-21 and the working trip to New York participating in the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from September 21-24 made by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has contributed to promoting the implementation of the external ties guidelines set by the 13th National Party Congress and delivered a strong message to the world on a foreign policy of independence, multi-lateralization and diversification, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and that Viet Nam is a reliable friend, an active and responsible member of the international community.

From tightening a fraternal and traditional friendship…

The visit by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has created a new momentum for the special traditional relations between Cuba and Viet Nam, as the two countries released a Joint Statement covering all fields and the signing of many cooperative agreements in agriculture, health care, justice, communications, information, energy and tourism.

The visit also marked a milestone of special significance, as it is the first visit to Cuba by a head of state since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to continue to consolidate Viet Nam’s position as the largest investor from the Asia-Oceania region in Cuba and provide products of Cuba’s demand such as consumer goods, footwear, garments and construction materials.

… To a broader commitment to the international community

At the 76th UNGA, President Nguyen took the occasion to express sincere thank to all member countries for the trust placed in Viet Nam in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2020-2021. He made clear that Viet Nam always upheld the principle of “Partnership for sustainable peace”, promoting dialogue and cooperation, and actively joining the concerted efforts to prevent and address conflicts.

He delivered strong commitments of Viet Nam on supporting multilateralism, with the UN at the center, and international law as the foundation. He also stressed that Viet Nam supports all efforts to respond to climate-related challenges at the UNSC, at multilateral forums, and at other cooperation arrangements at the bilateral and regional levels

On a topic of strategic importance and immense relevance to these days like climate security, the Vietnamese President shared his thoughts by pointing out three major focuses: (i) the UNSC must uphold its leading role in establishing mechanisms for assessment, forecast and warning of climate security risks at the early stage and while they are still distant; (ii) the people's interest, especially that of vulnerable groups, needs to take center stage if the world is to harmoniously address the inseparable relationship between security, development and humanitarian activities; and (iii) the world needs to continue to safeguard the sovereignty, key role and resilience of nations in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The President had made use of the occasion of the trip to New York for the UN high-level general debate to meet with leaders of various UN member states, international organizations and businesses, helping strengthen external relations and the favorable environment for national peace, stability and development./.