Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh attended the fifth Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) that took place in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan from June 14-15.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (first, right)  addresses the fifth Conference
on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia

Addressing the event, the Vice President affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring peace, cooperation and development, promoting international integration, actively engaging in and contributing to the international community’s common work, building and shaping multilateral mechanisms at regional and global levels based on the principles of equality, transparency and respect for law.

She emphasized that Vietnam always works hard to maintain a peaceful and stable environment in the region, ensure aviation and maritime freedom, settle disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the UN Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and push forward negotiations for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

The Vice President noted that the CICA has the potential to become a driving force for the world economy in the future, but is also a region with great risks of conflict that can cause serious consequences for the region and the world, as well as challenges such as slowing growth, environmental problems and trans-national crime. 

She stressed that the CICA should promote its role as a forum for building trust in Asia and upholding the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter, including respecting independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, not to use or threaten to use force, and not to interfere in countries’ internal affairs, and settling disputes through peaceful measures.

The CICA should assist member countries in coping with challenges through fostering economic cooperation and development, expanding cultural, social exchange and strengthening connections among countries and people.

On the occasion, the Vice President thanked countries for electing Vietnam as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

She declared that Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair in 2020, will make further contributions to the CICA’s operation in the spirit of “partner for sustainable peace”, while strengthening collaboration within the CCICA framework as well as between CICA and other partner countries and organisations, including the UN and the ASEAN.

The fifth CICA took place while the Asian and global situations have seen complicated changes. Hot spots of conflicts have yet to be settled, while terrorism and trans-national crimes continue to pose negative impacts on peace, security and development in the region.

State leaders at the conference, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, agreed that CICA member countries should promote dialogue and cooperation on the basis of mutual trust and respect for international law and the UN Charter, thus seeking solutions to traditional and non-traditional security challenges, increasing integration towards the goal of an Asia of trust, mutual understanding and cooperation for common sustainable development and prosperity.

The conference adopted a Dushanbe Declaration, pledging to strive to turn CICA into a major multilateral mechanism to promote dialogue and cooperation in Asia through fair trade, market opening, cultural exchange, connectivity, tourism, and clean energy development. 

During her stay, Vice President Thinh had a meeting with the host President Emomali Rahmon. She also met the Chinese President, the King of Qatar, the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, and the Foreign Minister of India to discuss measures to promote bilateral relations and coordination at multilateral forums.