(VOVworld) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his entourage left New York, the US on September 28, 2013 after attending the 68th UN General Assembly’s high level meeting. During the event, he delivered a speech at the general debate of the UN General Assembly and met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Prime Minister calls for a world free from war, hunger
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on September 28 presented a speech entitled “Humanity needs a world free from war and poverty” at the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting. He highlighted the importance of building strategic trust in consolidating peace and resolving disputes in the world, while expressing Vietnam’s willingness to contribute to the UN.
The Prime Minister said while peace, cooperation and development are the dominant trend, the threat of war is ever present. Violence in the Middle East and North Africa is a grave concern; the latest instance in Syria where the use of chemical weapons needs to be strongly condemned. The East China Sea and the East Sea of Viet Nam still rage with territorial disputes. Just one single incident or ill-conceived act could trigger conflict, even war. He underlined that people need to give peace every possible chance and to find solutions to eliminate chemical weapons in accordance with international law and UN Resolutions. Dung said: “Conflict and war can only be averted if we eliminate actions that run counter to the UN Charter and international law, imposition and power politics. Peace can be saved only when nations respect others’ sovereignty and cultural traditions, not impose political and moral standards on others, and the UN and the UN Security Council’s role is promoted. Strategic trust among nations must be constantly fostered with honesty, sincerity and concrete actions.”
Mr. Dung called on the UN the UN Security Council to be the fulcrum in building consensus for driving all nations to join hands together in preserving peace.
Prime Minister Dung shared the UN Secretary-General's view that the Millennium Development Goals are currently our most successful endeavor against hunger and poverty, but the rich-poor gap continues to widen. Over 1 billion people are still living in extreme poverty. At the same time, deforestation, exhaustive exploitation of natural resources and pollution have led to global warming, rising sea level, unpredictable weather, natural disasters and new epidemics. He urged the global community, with a sense of responsibility and humanity, to craft an ambitious post-2015 development agenda and re-double our efforts to promote peace, end hunger, poverty and protect our planet.
The Prime Minister said just a few decades ago, the word Vietnam was synonymous with war, division, blood and tears. Vietnam has defended its independence, united and rebuilt from the ashes of war, and left behind the past to become an active and responsible member of the international community.
Vietnam has integrated the Millennium Development Goals into the formulation and implementation of our development strategy and balanced economic development and social security. Vietnam has received the FAO award for our outstanding achievements in poverty reduction. Considering people the goal and the center of development, Vietnam pays special attention to providing healthcare, education, and means of communication even for people in remote, under-developed areas and amongst our ethnic minorities.
Vietnam is working actively with other members to build the ASEAN Community - a common house for all South East Asian nations that used to be deeply divided by war. This vividly manifests the aspiration for a bright future of peace, cooperation and prosperity, for unity in diversity, and for the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals. Prime Minister Dung said: “Having gone through devastating wars of aggression and extreme poverty, our aspirations for peace and prosperity burn ever more brightly. We commit to do more. To participate in every peace-building, poverty reduction, environmental protection and other efforts. We stand ready to join the UN's peace keeping operations. We are willing to share our resources and experience as a tribute to the international friends who have supported us in our struggle for independence, unification, and poverty reduction. Vietnam is and will always be a reliable partner and responsible member of the international community.”
In conclusion, he expressed his strong belief that the "Post-2015 Development Agenda" will be developed and finalized for a world free from war and hunger.