President addresses online high-level debate on UN-AU cooperation

HÀ NỘI — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended the virtual high-level open debate on cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) on October  二 八.

He was invited by his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who holds the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in October  二0 二 一.

The debate was themed “Renewing solidarity to successfully deliver peace and security in a changing conflict environment”.

Many African countries are still suffering from the prolonged consequences of colonialism and slavery, as well as conflicts, terrorism, extreme violence, transnational crimes, climate change, food and water source insecurity.

In order to help them with national reconstruction and development, response to and recovery in the post-pandemic period, President Phúc suggested that they should strongly improve self-resilience to deal with internal affairs, promote trust building and dialogues, enhance women and youth empowerment.

The African nations were advised to continue fostering friendship, expanding cooperation and integration, consolidating multilateralism, and upholding the spirit of abiding by international law and the UN Charter.

President Phúc proposed the UN and AU work closely in the implementation of the Initiative on Silencing the Guns in Africa by  二0 三0, the UN Agenda  二0 三0 and Africa’s Agenda  二0 六 三 on Sustainable Development, and fully and effectively step up the strategic partnership between the UNSC and the AU’s Peace and Security Council.

His other suggestions included expanding cooperation among regional organisations to improve their capacity of preventing and addressing conflicts, coping with regional and global challenges; supporting comprehensive exchange and cooperation between ASEAN and the AU; and strengthening food security to contribute to socio-economic stability.

The President stressed that Việt Nam always stood side by side with African nations to overcome difficulties, expand effective coordination towards peace and development, and offer medical supplies to fight the pandemic.

He also expressed his wish that Việt Nam would soon become an observer of the AU after the country had sent many military officers and doctors to join UN missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

At the event, the UNSC adopted its Presidential Statement on strengthening cooperation between the UN and the AU. — VNS