General Secretary and President To Lam (L) meets with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

This marks General Secretary and President To Lam's first working trip to the United States in his new position, as well as the first time a Vietnamese General Secretary and President has attended high-level meetings at the UN General Assembly.

For a better future

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly held special significance as both the UN and Vietnam approach the 80th anniversary of the UN - the world’s largest multilateral organization - and the 80th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, presenting an opportunity to advance toward a new future and development path for both the UN and the world.

In that context, the UN hosted a series of events during the General Assembly High-level Week, with the focus being the Summit of the Future themed “Multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow” and the General Debate of the UN General Assembly with the overarching theme of “Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”, to call for enhanced international cooperation and consolidation of multilateralism where the UN centrality promotes the implementation of common goals, especially the Sustainable Development Goals.

In his remarks at the Summit of the Future, General Secretary and President To Lam said that in this era of rapid scientific and technological advancements, sustainable development and human interests must be at the forefront and the ultimate goal. He asserted that scientific and technological achievements must drive social progress. They should be human-oriented and promote human emancipation and development, while continuously enhancing the quality of life and ensuring the wellbeing of humanity for generations to come.

He said, at this critical juncture, strengthening solidarity, cooperation, and mutual respect is essential to countries. We must uphold international law and the UN Charter and resolve disputes through peaceful means. Major countries must act responsibly and should share scientific and technological research advancements to foster collective growth. The UN and regional organizations, including ASEAN, must lead in advancing cooperation and coordinating efforts to tackle global challenges and harness opportunities from scientific and technological advancements.

Speaking at the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, attended by 155 heads of state and government of UN member states, along with representatives of international and regional organizations, General Secretary and President To Lam said that 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 difficulties and challenges. Strategic competition among major companies is becoming broader, fiercer and more confrontational. Political disputes and conflicts rapidly intensify.

He expressed a desire to share Vietnam's vision for a future that is peaceful, stable, cooperative, prosperous, and sustainable for all. First, as peace and stability are the foundation of a prosperous future, there is a need to promote the observance of international law and the UN Charter by all states. We must tirelessly strengthen solidarity, sincerity and trust among nations, uphold dialogue and eliminate confrontation.

Second, equitable development for every state, community and individual must be ensured amid diverse economic, social and cultural conditions. Every resource must be effectively unleashed, marshaled, and utilized for development according to each country's needs.

Third, smart global governance frameworks with long term vision for science and technology should be urgently created, particularly emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. This will ensure we make progress and enjoy the benefits of achievements while actively preventing and repelling threats to peace, sustainable development and humanity.

Fourth, innovative thinking should be adopted to build a transformative and inclusive future, focusing on digital transformation, green transition, and global governance transformation.

Fifth, people must be placed at the center in delivering on the visions. People should be the center, 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.

General Secretary and President To Lam delivers remarks at the UN Summit of the Future

Fostering cooperation and investment between leading US businesses with Vietnam

The working trip to the US by General Secretary and President To Lam concurred the first anniversary of Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and active preparations for celebratory events for the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations establishment in 2025. This was an important occasion for the two sides to review the achievements generated by the new cooperation framework and discuss major approaches and measures to maintain the positive, stable and substantive development momentum of the relationship in the coming years. During the working trip, he had important bilateral meetings with leaders of the US Government, attended and spoke at celebratory events of the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations establishment and the first anniversary of Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as meetings and working sessions with leading US officials, businesses, experts and scholars.

Notably, General Secretary and President To Lam met with US President Joe Biden. President Biden affirmed that the United States supports a strong, independent, resilient and prosperous Vietnam and continues working to bolster the partnership on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institution, making the bilateral ties a model for healing and cooperation for future construction.

Both leaders expressed their delight over the outcomes of the comprehensive strategic partnership after one year of upgrading in accordance with the interests and aspirations of both sides, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

To continue maintaining the stable and effective development momentum of the new framework and move toward the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations in 2025, the two leaders agreed that the two sides need to work closely to effectively carry out the Vietnam-US Joint Statement in 2023.

General Secretary and President To Lam witnesses the exchange of the MoU between Petrovietnam and Kellogg Brown & Root during the business roundtable held as part of his participation in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly and official meetings in the US

During this occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam met with leading US technology companies and investment firms, including Google (former CEO Eric Schmidt), Apple, Meta, Super Micro, Blackstone, Warburg Pincus, AES, Pacifico Energy, and SpaceX.

US businesses highly appreciated Vietnam’s priority policies on economic development, especially its commitments to removing institutional obstacles and barriers, and helping businesses overcome difficulties and boost activities. They also discussed cooperation opportunities across many fields where Vietnam has potential and expressed their intent to invest in the country soon. They also believed in the country’s economic achievements and pledged to prioritize supporting Vietnam to maintain and ensure its commitments to sustainable development. US firms also hoped that the Vietnamese government will enhance policy facilitation to enable long-term cooperation and investment activities.

General Secretary and President To Lam said that there is considerable potential for bilateral cooperation, fueled by the internal strengths of both countries and the momentum generated by the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He urged the relevant agencies of both countries to further implement the major policies and directions of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, expressing hope that U.S. investors would explore and expand their investments in science and technology, innovation, research and development, green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, chip, semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IOT), new energy, renewable energy, finance and financial center, biotechnology, healthcare and other fields.

At the business roundtable organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), and the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) in coordination with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Embassy of Vietnam in the US, he witnessed the handover ceremony of signed documents between Vietnamese and US businesses, including the cooperation agreement on energy transition and research on energy technology transfer between Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Kellogg Brown & Root Inc.; the memorandum of understanding on research and provision of software solutions in electricity and oil and gas sectors between PetroVietnam and GE Digital International LLC; the cooperation agreement on liquefied natural gas (LNG) between PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) and Excelerate Energy, Inc.; the memorandum of understanding on Al, semiconductor and data center construction in Vietnam between Sovico Group and Supermicro; the cooperation agreement on aviation between Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company and Honeywell; the cooperation agreement on natural gas production between Wealth Power Group Vietnam and Eternal Natural Resources Company.

General Secretary and President To Lam of Vietnam and President Joe Biden of the United States during their meeting in New York on September 25