 Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu (C) chairs the UN meeting on UNCLOS in his capacity as President. (Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA’s correspondent in the US) |
The meeting, which will run through Friday, convenes 170 member states, observer countries, heads of bodies established under the Convention, and interested international organizations.
According to Mr. Vu, it’s significant that Vietnam is taking on the presidency for the first time at the most important annual meeting on the implementation of UNCLOS. It reflects other countries’ confidence in Vietnam’s capacity to lead and manage multilateral processes within the UN framework. It also recognizes Vietnam’s contributions to global efforts in ocean and maritime governance.
 SPLOS 35 meeting (Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA’s correspondent in the US) |
In his remarks following the election and as he began chairing the meeting, Deputy Minister Vu highlighted recent positive developments in the implementation of UNCLOS and global ocean and maritime governance.
He particularly underscored the success of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) held earlier this month in Nice, France, and ongoing efforts to promote the early entry into force of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
He called on countries to uphold multilateralism, engage in discussions in a spirit of cooperation and constructiveness, and propose measures to advance the implementation of UNCLOS.