Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamwill continue to be an active and responsible member of the internationalcommunity and the United Nations (UN) and engage more in the UN’s peacekeepingoperations and prove its role as a member of UN organisations such as the UN Economicand Social Council and the International Law Commission, said President TranDai Quang.

While receiving the newly-accreditedUN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, KamalMalhotra, in Hanoi on April 21, President Quang said Vietnam supports the effortsto reform the UN, including the One UN Initiative, and always actively takespart in the UN’s endeavours to build a peaceful world of sustainabledevelopment.

The State leader noted that Vietnam treasures cooperative ties with the UN andconsiders the UN as one of the leading multilateral partner. He took thisoccasion to thank the UN for its precious assistance to Vietnam during the processof post-war reconstruction, national construction and development over the lastfour decades, thus helping the country obtain socio-economic achievements andsuccessfully accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The year 2017 marks 40 years since Vietnambecame a UN member and is also the first year of implementing the Vietnam-UNJoint Strategic Plan for 2017-2021, the President said, adding that this is agood occasion for both sides to review their cooperation over the past yearsand work out measures to enhance ties in the time ahead.

In the context of growing global challenges insecurity and development, multilateral forums, especially the UN, play anincreasingly important role. Vietnam hopes the UN will continue upholding itsrole in maintaining international peace and security and supporting countries,including Vietnam, to successfully implement the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, he said.

As one of the countries seriously affected byclimate change, Vietnam expects to strengthen cooperation with the UN inresponse to climate change and successfully implement the Paris Agreement,President Quang said, expressing his gratitude to the UN for inviting Vietnam topilot an action plan on preparing for and responding to El Nino.

He told his guest that after 30 years of reform, Vietnam has attained numerous socio-economic developmentachievements and become a middle-income country. However, the country is alsofacing an array of challenges such as how to maintain stable growth, avoid themiddle-income trap, protect the environment, and respond to climate change, andexpects continued collaboration from the UN to address thsse challenges,thereby helping to promote peace, security and sustainable development inVietnam and the region.

The President also asserted that Vietnam willcreate optimal conditions for UN agencies to operate and expressed his beliefthat with his experience, Malhotra will actively help to bring Vietnam-UNrelations to a new level.

For his part, Malhotra said Vietnam is importantto the UN and it is one of the countries taking the lead in carrying out theOne UN Initiative and strongly contributing to thes initiative’s success.

He lauded the country’s active and effectiveparticipation in and contributions to the UN’s activities, includingpeacekeeping operations.

The UN is looking forwards to Vietnam’s signingand approval of the Vietnam-UN Joint Strategic Plan for 2017-2021, which is amaster plan for about 20 UN organisations in and outside of Vietnam, he noted.

A prioritised issue in the plan is that the UNwill support Vietnam to mitigate climate change impacts and the UN has alsodefined Vietnam as one of the 10 prioritised countries to have an action planon preparing and responding to El Nino, Malhotra said.

The action plan is a good initiative and also achance for Vietnam to call for financial aid and investment in responding toclimate change, he said, adding that the UN also plans to help the country to increaseits economy’s competitiveness in the region and the world.-VNA