Highlights of 2024
With specific and practical contributions to regional and international multilateral mechanisms in recent years, it can be confidently said that Vietnam's role and position in the international arena have been increasingly enhanced; its prestige and political trust have been increasingly consolidated.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that promoting and elevating multilateral diplomacy is a consistent policy and an important strategic orientation of ours. Multilateral institutions and forums have an important voice and role in many regional and global security and development issues related to Vietnam.
In the current rapidly and profoundly changing security and development environment, we have shifted from the policy of "participation and participation" to promoting the role of "active and responsible member", initiating and leading many initiatives and cooperation ideas and proactively participating in building and shaping global governance, frameworks and laws in many fields.
With many new approaches, multilateral diplomacy in 2024 has left outstanding marks in many important regional and global forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, the Mekong Sub-region, APEC, G20, G7, BRICS, AIPA, the Non-Aligned Movement, Francophonie, OECD, etc.
In the region, we successfully organized the first ASEAN Future Forum, which was an important factor in strengthening solidarity, ASEAN's central role and strategic orientation in building the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
At the global level, Vietnam continues to successfully assume its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council, 6/7 key executive mechanisms of UNESCO.
The international community highly appreciates Vietnam's capacity, role, practical contributions and responsibility in common issues, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mentioned in a discussion with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil as "a model of peace and sustainable development".
The country's new position and strength allow us in the new period not only to participate in building and shaping multilateral institutions and participating in initiatives of other countries, but also to promote a core and leading role in important issues and mechanisms of strategic significance, in line with our interests.
Continue to successfully undertake important responsibilities in 2025
2025 is an important year with many major milestones in multilateral diplomacy such as 30 years of Vietnam joining ASEAN and 80 years of the founding of the United Nations.
Continuing Vietnam's contributions to common world issues, multilateral foreign affairs will focus on preparing and organizing well the events that Vietnam hosts such as the ASEAN Future Forum, the 4th Summit of the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); continuing to successfully undertake important responsibilities and tasks in multilateral organizations and forums such as ASEAN, the Mekong Sub-region, APEC, and United Nations mechanisms, including those of UNESCO and the UN Women Executive Council (2025-2027).
At the same time, Vietnam continues to assume the role of an active and responsible member in multilateral organizations and agencies and continues to run for positions that are consistent with our priorities and interests, such as running for the Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 term, and for the first time having a candidate for the position of Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term.
Vietnam will also contribute more actively and responsibly to common issues, especially responding to global challenges such as climate change, reducing net emissions, promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); participating more deeply in United Nations peacekeeping activities, search and rescue, and humanitarian aid.
