Opening session of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in Nice, France, June 9, 2025. Photo: VNA

“I urge all countries to come forward with bold pledges,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in his opening remarks to the Conference. “We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope,” he said. “Hope that we can turn the tide.”

President Emmanuel Macron of France, also addressing the opening ceremony, said, “we need to revitalize multilateralism behind the UN Secretary General,” adding that, “the only way to meet that challenge, is to mobilize all actors, heads of state and government speaking here, but also scientists.”

The top priority will be to accelerate the ratification of the "Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction," or High Seas Treaty adopted by the UN in June 2023. This treaty aims to protect and sustainably manage biodiversity in the high seas and seabed in international waters, covering nearly two-thirds of the global ocean. To come into force, it needs to be ratified by at least 60 countries by September 20, 2025. So far, only 32 countries have ratified it.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the opening session of UNOC-3. Photo: VNA

On the first day of the Conference, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivered a keynote speech, representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a speech by Vietnam at the plenary session. He also co-chaired with the President of Iraq the World Delta Summit, held on the sidelines of the UNOC 3.

PM Chinh witnessed the handover of the diplomatic document on Vietnam's ratification of "Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction."

On Sunday, French President Emanuel Macron invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of other countries to attend the opening ceremony of the Whale Building in the Nice Conference Center.