So said Ambassador NguyenTrung Thanh, head of the Vietnamese Diplomatic Mission to the UnitedNations (UN) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), during an interviewon the occasion of Vietnam ’s full membership to the United NationsHuman Rights Council for the 2014-2016 tenure.
Thanhnoted that alongside bilateral ties, multilateral diplomacy is playingan increasingly important role at a time when Vietnam is proactivelyjoining in the UN’s activities and multilateral forums.
He described 2013 as a year full of challenges and opportunities. Theinternational community hailed Vietnam for its review of tradepolicies under the WTO for the first time since it joined the body sixyears ago. It was a reflection of Vietnam’s achievements inperfecting the market economy and contributions to the global tradesystem, Thanh said.
He claimed that Vietnam viewsGeneva as one of the top frontlines in realising its foreign policy ofactively and proactively integrating into the world economies,especially via regional and inter-regional mechanisms like theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) andother organisations based in Geneva and New York .
Thanh cited the large number of votes won by Vietnam to claim a seat onthe UN Human Rights Council as an evidence of its active contributionsto global affairs, especially the protection and promotion of humanrights.-VNA