Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam delivered an important speech at the General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) in the U.S., sharing Vietnam's five-point vision for a more peaceful, cooperative, prosperous, and sustainable future for everyone in the world.  

The event kicked off at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday with the theme of 'Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Humanity for Today and Future Generations.'

It gathered 155 heads of state and government from UN member countries, along with leaders from global and regional organizations.

In his speech, Lam underscored that the world is undergoing transformative changes of historic significance and that peace, cooperation, and development are more serious challenges.

Strategic competition among major powers is becoming broader and fiercer, while risks of conflict, an arms race, confrontation, and direct clashes have increased. 

The Vietnamese leader stated the rise of power politics and egoistic nationalism is eroding multilateral institutions and diminishing faith in global cooperation, while non-traditional security challenges are hampering efforts for human development.

The recent super typhoon Yagi, which wreaked havoc in Vietnam and other countries in the region, serves as a stark reminder of the severe impact natural disasters and climate change can have on sustainable development worldwide.

Regarding food security, Lam said global food production is sufficient to feed one and a half times the world population, but famine threatens over 780 million people, and 2.4 billion people face food insecurity.

“Defense expenditure reached a record US$2.4 trillion in 2023, yet we struggle to pool $100 billion for climate action. With only a third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) timeline remaining, 80 percent of the targets may not be met,” Lam pointed out. 

Global economic growth is facing challenges, while "decoupling and fragmentation, along with economic pressures and sanctions, threaten rapid and sustainable development,” he warned.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution presents significant opportunities for rapid progress. However, it also brings security and safety challenges for both society and individuals.

These unprecedented challenges to peace, cooperation, sustainable development, and human dignity compel everyone to unite, act together, and uphold the role of international institutions, with the UN playing the main role, and regional organizations, including ASEAN, to achieve the ultimate goal of ending war, abolishing oppression and exploitation, building peace, creating a better world, and bringing happiness to humankind.

In this spirit, Lam told delegates about Vietnam’s vision for a more peaceful, stable, cooperative, prosperous, and sustainable future for everyone.

He firstly called on every state to act responsibly, fulfill its commitments, and comply with international law and the UN Charter, including fundamental principles such as 'the peaceful settlement of disputes, non-use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and respect for the political system chosen by the people of each nation." 

Nations should strengthen solidarity, sincerity, and mutual trust, uphold dialogue, eliminate confrontation, and firmly oppose unilateral embargoes and sanctions that contravene international law and the UN Charter.

Secondly, Lam underlined the need to ensure equitable development for every state, community, and individual, and to effectively unleash, marshal, and utilize resources for development according to each country's needs. 

Every country should prioritize resources for implementing the SDGs, with due attention to supporting developing and less-developed countries, especially through preferential loans, technology transfer, investment and trade facilitation, and debt relief for poor countries.

Thirdly, the Vietnamese leader proposed promptly creating smart global governance frameworks with a long-term vision for science and technology, particularly emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). 

“In this regard, I welcome the documents adopted at the Summit for the Future, especially the Global Digital Compact. This will serve as a crucial basis for advancing global governance and international cooperation in these areas,” Lam said. 

Fourth, he called for adopting innovative thinking focusing on digital transformation, green transition, and global governance transformation, with both green transition and digital transformation serving as essential tools for all countries, especially developing ones, to build self-reliance and resilience, enabling a timely and effective response to potential crises and disasters.

He added that the world should focus on reforming multilateral mechanisms, particularly the UN system and international financial and monetary institutions, to improve their representation, equity, transparency, and efficiency.

The fifth point Lam underlined was that “people should be the center, 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.”

Amid a rapidly changing world in which every nation plays a vital role in the overall global development, Vietnam is making every effort toward a future of peace, stability, prosperity, and sustainability, not only for its own people but also for all nations worldwide, he affirmed.

The Vietnamese leader wrapped up his speech by calling for solidarity and cooperation among countries to successfully build “a world of peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for present and future generations, ensuring no one is left behind.”

“Our President Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese hero of national liberation and eminent man of culture, once stressed, 'Unity, unity, great unity – Success, success, grand success,'” Lam concluded.

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