His Excellency Nicolas Maduro Moros, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement,
Excellencies,
On behalf of the Vietnamese Delegation, I warmly congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and express deep appreciation to the Government and people of Venezuela for your warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements for the Summit.
Mr. Chairman,
Over the past 55 years, NAM has grown stronger and greatly contributed to the struggle for peace, national independence, against war and to the mutual assistance for development. The strength of NAM is best shown when we are unified, raising one voice and acting as one, on the basis of the founding objectives and principles of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The world today provides us with opportunities for development, but also presents many unprecedented challenges. Security threats, conflicts, lack of respect for or disregard of international law, interference, coercion and imposition by big powers of values, views and selfish interests still linger. On top of those, inequities in international trade and finance, climate change, environment and marginalization risk, unilateralism, terrorism, etc. have been on the rise and cannot be addressed by a single country. Unfortunately, the NAM’s member states have been the most affected and disadvantaged by these challenges. More seriously, one of the most alarming concerns for the Movement now is that its fundamental rules and principles, including even the Decision of Sixth Summit in Havana 1979 regarding consensus and the Cartagena Document on Methodology of 1995 have not been respected.
In this context, NAM must first reconsolidate the unity and solidarity of one hundred and twenty members. In this endeavor, adherence to international law is the prerequisite for a stable, democratic and rules-based international relation and to ensure the respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and international peace and security. Therefore, among others, our priorities should be placed on following areas:
First, we must uphold the Bandung principles, especially the respect for sovereignty, abstention from exerting pressure, aggression or use of force, settlement of disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Only by doing so, can we fulfill our shared aspirations and common interests for international peace and security.
Second, we should strive for the best development interests of the Movement in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that we will further discuss at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly next week and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with particularly emphasis on the principle of “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities” and with a view to ensuring equality in international economic relation and meaningful assistance for developing countries in implementing the SDGs. At the same time, we need to revitalize and explore innovative modalities to foster such cooperation mechanisms as South-South, tripartite, intra- and inter-regional and subregional cooperation.
Last, we should together step up efforts to make all global governance and decision making mechanisms more democratic and equitable with the substantive participation of the NAM’s member states in conformity with international law.
Mr. Chairman,
The ASEAN Community was established earlier this year with the motto One Vision, One Identity, One Community. The ASEAN Member States are making every effort to strengthen unity, solidarity and the centrality of ASEAN with a view to ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in Southeast Asia, especially through dealing with complex security challenges in the region, including the East Sea (also known as South China Sea). With regard to recent complicated developments in the South China Sea, we call upon all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and solve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, implement the Declaration on the Conduct of parties on the South China Sea (DOC) and expedite the completion of the Code of Conduct in South China Sea (COC).
On our part, by consistently pursuing the founding objectives and principles of NAM, Viet Nam has made great progresses of its socio-economic development in the course of national building. We have been consistently pursuing the foreign policy of independence, peace, cooperation and development. As a friend, a trusted partner of all countries and a responsible member of NAM, Viet Nam will continue to actively contribute the common objectives of the Movement for international peace, stability and sustainable development for all.
Thank you for your kind attention.