Speech by Lam To, President of Vietnam, at the 79th session of the UNGA. teleSUR
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00:00President of the 79th Session of the UNGA, I trust that this session will be a great
00:05success.
00:06I also commend Excellency Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session, and Excellency
00:16Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, for their contributions and efforts in coordinating
00:26UN endeavors to prevent wars, maintain peace, and promote global development cooperation.
00:35Ladies and gentlemen, The world is undergoing transformative changes
00:39of historic significance.
00:41Although peace, cooperation, and development remain the dominant trends, they are facing
00:45new and more serious challenges.
00:48Strategic competition among major powers is becoming broader, fiercer, and more confrontational.
00:56Political disputes, conflicts, and security environment intensify.
01:02Survival and development space narrows.
01:05Risk of conflict, new hotspots, arm race, tension, confrontation, and direct clashes
01:12increase.
01:15The rise of power politics, egoistic nationalism, a challenging international law, eroding multilateral
01:23institutions, and diminishing faith in global cooperation.
01:29The vicious cycle of conflict and violence escalates in various regions, causing immense
01:34sufferings to millions of innocent civilians.
01:38The risk of a limited nuclear war or even a third world war has not been ruled out.
01:46Non-traditional security challenges such as climate change, extreme weather events, natural
01:52disasters, diseases, resource depletion, and aging population are becoming increasingly
01:58severe and hindering our efforts for development.
02:01Poor countries are being left further behind with a widening development gap.
02:07Super Typhoon Yagi, which ravaged Vietnam and other countries in the region, serves
02:12as a stark warning of the severe impacts that natural disasters and climate change can have
02:19on sustainable development for all.
02:23Global food production is sufficient to feed one and a half times the world population
02:28yet famine is threatening over 780 million people and 2.4 billion people endure food
02:36insecurity.
02:39Defense expenditure reached a record of $2.4 trillion in 2023 yet we struggled to pull
02:49$100 billion for climate actions.
02:52With only a third of the SDGs timeline remaining, 80% of the targets may not be met.
03:02Global economic growth faces difficulties and decoupling and fragmentation, along with
03:08economic pressures and sanctions, threaten rapid and sustainable development.
03:13The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers opportunities for quantum progress, but it also poses a
03:18security and safety challenges for society and individuals.
03:23These unprecedented challenges to peace cooperation, sustainable development, and human dignity
03:28affect this generation and the next.
03:31They compel us to unite, act and work together, upholding the role of international institutions,
03:39foremost among them the United Nations, regional organizations including ASEAN, to achieve
03:46the ultimate goal of ending war, abolishing all forms of oppression, exploitation, building
03:53peace and creating a better world to bring happiness to all mankind.
03:58In that spirit, I would like to share Vietnam's vision for a more peaceful, stable, cooperative,
04:04prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.
04:08First, as peace and stability are the foundation for a prosperous future, we must promote observance
04:16of international law and UN Charter by all States, particularly the major powers.
04:22Each State must act responsibly, fulfill its commitments, and abide by international law
04:28and UN Charter including fundamental principles such as the peaceful settlement of disputes,
04:35non-use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity and respect for the political systems
04:42chosen by the people of each nation.
04:46States should also contribute to the common work of the international community in line
04:51with their capabilities.
04:52We must strengthen solidarity, sincerity and trust among Nations to uphold dialogue, eliminate
04:58confrontation and firmly oppose unilateral embargoes and sanctions that contravene international
05:04law and UN Charter.
05:06Second, we must ensure equitable development for every State community and individuals
05:13and recognizing the diverse economic, social and cultural conditions that they may have.
05:18Every resource must be effectively unleashed, marshaled and utilized for development.
05:23According to each country's needs, we must prioritize resources where they're most needed
05:27for implementing the SDGs, with attention to assisting developing and less developed
05:33countries, especially through preferential loans, transfer of advanced technologies,
05:39investment and trade facilitation and debt relief for poor countries.
05:44And third, we should urgently create smart global governance frameworks with long-term
05:48vision for science and technology, especially emerging technologies like AI.
05:54This will ensure we make progress and enjoy the benefits of these technologies while actively
05:58preventing threats to peace, sustainable development and humanity.
06:04In that connection, I welcome the documents adopted at the Summit for the Future, especially
06:09the Global Digital Compact.
06:11This will serve as a crucial basis for advancing global governance and international cooperation
06:16in those areas.
06:19And fourth, we should adopt innovative thinking to build a transformative future across all
06:25sectors, focusing on digital transformation, green transition and global governance transformation.
06:31Green transition and digital transformation are essential tools for countries, especially
06:37developing ones to build resilience and self-reliance, enabling a timely and active prevention and
06:44response to shocks, crises and potential disasters.
06:48We must also prioritize reforming multilateral mechanisms, especially the UN system, international
06:54financial and monetary institutions, to ensure better representation, equity and transparency,
07:00enhancing the capacity, effectiveness and future readiness is essential for remaining
07:04relevant in our changing world.
07:07And fifth, we must place humans at the center in delivering on our visions.
07:11People should be the center, the goal and driver of all policies and actions at all
07:16levels.
07:18Investments should focus on the holistic development of the youth, enriching their knowledge and
07:22culture, grounded in shared values and a sense of responsibility and contribution.
07:28Vietnam welcomes the UNGA's official decision to grant additional rights and privileged
07:34participation to the State of Palestine from this session onwards.
07:38Vietnam reaffirms its solidarity with the state and people of Cuba and calls on the
07:42United States to lift embargoes and sanctions against Cuba and to remove Cuba from the list
07:48of state sponsors of terrorism.
07:50We need to vigorously promote such actions, since they are practical ways to foster equitable
07:56development and happiness for all.
08:00President Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese hero of national liberation and a man of culture,
08:06once stressed, unity, unity, great unity, success, success, grand success.
08:11Only through unity and cooperation with trust and by thinking and acting as one can we build
08:16a world of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for the present and future
08:21generations, ensuring no one is left behind.
08:24In today's rapidly changing world, each state plays a vital role in the grand orchestration
08:31of our era.
08:33Vietnam is making every effort to move forward toward a future of peace, stability, prosperity
08:38and sustainability, not only for all our people, but also for all nations worldwide.
08:44This is Vietnam's vision, goal and strong commitment to the international community
08:50today and tomorrow.
08:52Thank you for your kind attention.
08:54On behalf of the Assembly, I would like to...
09:01We are listening to Lam Tho, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as he addressed
09:05the General Assembly of the United Nations.
09:08During his statements, the President remarked the current global lesson area, which is marked
09:12by huge transformations, but also by the challenges imposed by climate change, the escalation
09:18of violence in several regions and food insecurity.
09:20Lam Tho informed that global economic growth faces uncertainties, which pose unprecedented
09:26challenges to human dignity.
09:28This reality urges us to be united and act and work together, the President assured.
09:33Each state must act with responsibility to preserve peace, warranty sovereign equality
09:38and contribute to the common work of the international community.
09:42The President urged the US to eliminate Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism
09:48and also to eliminate the sanctions and the blockade against the island, a policy that
09:52contravenes the United Nations Charter.
09:55This is all for the moment, stay tuned with From the South.