New York (VNA) –Nearly 100 member states of the Group of Friends on the 1982 UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) held a ceremony on June 14 to mark 40 years sincethe adoption of the convention.

The event, organised at theheadquarters of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, coincidedwith the group’s first anniversary (June 30) and the 32nd meeting ofstates parties to UNCLOS (SPLOS 32).

In his welcome speech, on behalfof the group’s 12 founding members, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, PermanentRepresentative of Vietnam to the UN, said despite difficulties caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic last year, the group still maintained regular activities inflexible formats.

He thanked all the 115 memberstates for consistently supporting and actively taking part in common activities,affirming that the participation reflects their commitment to the group’s goalof upholding UNCLOS and international law.

Giang stressed his hope thatamid many common maritime challenges facing the international community, thegroup will continue developing and contributing more to the world’s joint effortsin response to those challenges.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel Miguel Soares affirmed that UNCLOS is a comprehensive document that regulatesall activities on seas and oceans and is a framework for international, regional,and national cooperation in maritime issues.

He welcomed the group’sactivities and expressed his hope that it will further bring into play its roleat forums on maritime issues and help with ocean governance, the realisationof Sustainable Development Goal 14 on conserving and sustainably using theoceans, seas and marine resources, the maintenance of legal order for seas andoceans, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

For her part, SPLOS 32 PresidentVanessa Frazier held that issues relevant to seas and oceans are attractingmore attention from the international community.

Frazier said she hoped with alarge number of members from their regions, the group will create an open andfriendly forum for countries to discuss not only maritime issues but alsoothers of common concern, thereby contributing to the full implementation ofUNCLOS and SPLOS’s activities.

A group of friends is aninformal and flexible form of coordination aiming to enhance cooperation amongthe countries sharing common concern about a particular issue to promote commongoals.

The 115-strong UNCLOS Groupof Friends was the first initiated by Vietnam, which lobbied for the establishment together with Germany and joined the team of 12 core members, namely Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Germany,Jamaica, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Senegal, SouthAfrica and Vietnam./.