Geneva (VNA)༒ – Minister ofForeign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on February 26 met with leaders of the UnitedNations (UN) and heads of delegations to the 55th session of the United NationsHuman Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, while attending the session.

At the meeting with UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres, Son affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to andsupports the central role of the UN in the global governance system and insolving common challenges. He called on the UN to continue to support Vietnamin developing the country and contributing to building a peaceful, stable, andresilient Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community. The Vietnamese official welcomed theinitiatives of Secretary-General Guterres and shared Vietnam's recent effortssuch as adopting the roadmap to realise the Sustainable Development Goals by2030, and implementing commitments on climate change at the Conference of theParties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), including theimplementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). Son alsoannounced that Vietnam will continue to send officers and soldiers to theUN peacekeeping force in the coming time, including the police. Guterres expressed hisadmiration for Vietnam's achievements and thanked the country for its greatcooperation with and support to UN priorities, especially in participating inpeacekeeping, implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting thereform of the Security Council and international financial institutions, andpioneering the implementation of climate change commitments. At the meeting with President of the UNGeneral Assembly Dennis Francis, Son highly appreciated the President’s role,especially in the context of the complicated world situation, affirming thatunder the leadership of the President, the UN has made many positivecontributions to promoting international law, maintaining peace, stability, anddevelopment cooperation among countries, as well as supporting the efforts ofcountries, including  Vietnam, inhandling urgent challenges related to climate change and rising sea levels. Onthis occasion, he invited official to visit Vietnam in 2024. Francis affirmed that Vietnamhas made practical contributions to the work of the UN in general as well as tohis office in particular, including sending staff to work at the office. He agreed with Vietnam on concerns aboutpeace, respect for international law, and response to climate change,emphasising that in the world’s complicated situation, the UN and its memberstates need to join hands to handle emerging international issues and focus onpromoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In that spirit, the UN plans to organise a“Sustainability Week” in April 2024 with five main topics of tourism,infrastructure, energy, sustainable debt handling and transport, as a responseto the “Future Summit” scheduled to be held in September 2024. He said he looksforward to Vietnam's active participation. The Vietnamese Foreign Minister also met withhis Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during which Sonhighly appreciated the development of the Vietnam - Iran relations in recent times,especially high-level contacts between the two countries. He said hehopes that the two Foreign Ministries will continue to coordinate closely andtogether with relevant agencies to fully and effectively implement agreements reached during the visit to Iran by National Assembly Chairman VuongDinh Hue in August 2023, as well as at the meeting between Vice State President VoThi Anh Xuan and First Vice President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber in January 2024. Son proposed the two sides facilitate theoperation of the two countries' businesses, calling on Iran to support thedevelopment and open the market for Vietnamese Halal products and strengthencooperation in multilateral forums, including the UN. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Iran in SoutheastAsia. He said he hopes that the two countries will continue to strive to increasetwo-way trade turnover to commensurate with the bilateral relations’ potential, and enhance cooperation in education and training. The two sides also discussedinternational issues of mutual concern, including the situation in the MiddleEast, and agreed to strengthen cooperation to contribute to peace, stability, and development in the region and around the world. The Iranian diplomat alsoinvited his Vietnamese counterpart to visit Iran soon. Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister of Kazakhstan Murat Abugaliuly Nurtleu, Son affirmed that Vietnamattaches great importance to its traditional friendship and multifacetedcooperation with Kazakhstan, an important partner of Vietnam in Central Asia. He welcomed the results of Kazakhstan PresidentKassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to Vietnam in August 2023 and expressed his hope the two sideswill continue to coordinate closely to implement the agreements reached duringthe visit. For his part, the Kazakhstani leader affirmed that his country attaches special importance to the relations withVietnam and agreed that the two sides need to promote cooperation and supporteach other at international forums. The two sides agreed that it is necessary toincrease the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones;further promote cooperation in the fields of economics - trade – investment;and create more favourable conditions for transport, tourism andpeople-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The same day, Son also met separately with Moroccan JusticeMinister Abdellatif Ouahbi and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.During the meetings, he affirmed the common stance of ASEAN and Vietnam onsolving disputes peacefully based on international law, including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ensuring safety and security of navigation and overflight in the East Sea./.