NewYork (VNA) – Vietnam has a strong voice and has won trust worldwide,especially in Asia, Africa, the Europe as well as the US, Ambassador Philippe Kridelka, Permanent Representativeof Belgium to the UN has told the Vietnam News Agency.

He expressed his belief that Vietnam caneffectively act as a bridge among countries. As the US will have a newadministration led by President Joe Biden next month, Vietnamwill have chances to contribute more to the UNSC, helping it reach consensusand permanent member states like Russia, the US and China understand eachother better, he said.

According to Kridelka, the world is facing multiple challenges for anotheryear in 2021, necessitating global efforts to build and consolidatemultilateralism, respond to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic andstrengthen international legal framework as they are important to all economicactivities.

Both Vietnam and Belgium are counting on the rules-basedorder to address global issues and challenges, he said, adding that the twocountries have boasted effective cooperation within the UNSC and enjoyed strongfriendship.

The diplomat also highlighted efforts of UNSC’snon-permanent members, such as Vietnam and Belgium, in fostering globalsecurity, peace and development over the last year.

As non-permanent UNSC members, both countrieshave played a part in helping the five permanent member states – the US,Russia, the UK, France and China – cooperate more effectively with each otherand find a common voice, he said, citing as an example the Yemen issue, in which both Vietnam and Belgiumhave placed emphasis on the role of women in peace process in Yemen.

Mentioning Belgium's great effortsto address various global challenges, including terrorism and climate change, he said climate change is also very important to Vietnam, so he believed the country will make active contributions to help the UNSCachieve consensus in addressing this issue.

The Belgium ambassador went on to praiseVietnam’s COVID-19 response, saying Vietnam’s success provides lessons and examples for many others around the world.

Vietnam achieved high performance in a recentreport on children’s reading and mathematics ability worldwide, putting it amongthe countries with the best primary education, he said. This is an achievementof Vietnam in human rights, he added./.