Working lunch of ambassadors and representatives of the 11 founding countries of the Group of Friends on the UNCLOS 1982 in New York (Photo: Pham Huan/VOV-Washington)

Assistant to Foreign Affairs Minister Nguyen Minh Vu made the statement at Thursday’s working lunch of ambassadors and representatives of the 11 founding countries of the Group of Friends on the UNCLOS 1982 in New York. 

Vu called on the founding countries to continue to contribute and share ideas so that the Group of Friends can further promote its role in promoting and affirming the value and vitality of UNCLOS.

The Ambassadors and representatives of these countries praised the core and leading role of Vietnam in recent years in enhancing the role and image of the Group of Friends at the United Nations.

They said the Group’s activities have offered a forum for exchanging and discussing diverse aspects in sea management and use and affirming the value of UNCLOS in dealing with new challenges at sea.

Marcin Czepelak, Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), said the comprehensiveness of the maritime dispute settlement mechanism in UNCLOS and BBNJ shows the potential of these procedures in assisting countries to find solutions to differences in the interpretation and implementation of legal provisions in maritime delimitation and management.

The BBNJ is the Agreement on the Conservation of Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction adopted by the UN in March 2023.