• News by AUN News correspondent
• Monday, October 24, 2022.
• AUN News – ISSN: 2949-8090

Summary:

• “To make the five-year goal a reality, Mr. Guterres will present an action plan at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt the following month.

• The Secretary-General praised Vietnam’s efforts to safeguard the Mekong Delta as well.

• On Friday, the Secretary-General travelled to Vietnam and took part in the ceremony honouring the country’s 45 years as a UN Member State.

• Mr. Guterres spent five days in the area.

• Before going to Vietnam, he travelled to India, where, among other things, he took part in a ceremony to commemorate the nation’s 75th anniversary of independence.

Mr. Guterres visited the nation to take part in a ceremony honoring the nation’s 45th year as a member of the UN.

He met with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the president; Pham Minh Chinh, the prime minister; Bui Thanh Son, the minister of foreign affairs; and Tran Hong Ha, the minister of the environment.

Prevention of tragic events

The UN head stressed the crucial importance of disaster preparedness for all countries during a speech he gave on Saturday at Vietnam’s Meteorological and Hydrological Administration in the country’s capital, Hanoi.

Within five years, all nations are expected to have early warning systems, he said, “to end the tragedy of people dying and livelihoods being destroyed because they did not know that tragedy was unfolding.”

He continued, “We have time to relocate people and we have time to safeguard property when we have an early warning system and we know that something dreadful is coming.”

To make the five-year goal a reality, Mr. Guterres will present an action plan at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt the following month.

The Secretary-General praised Vietnam’s efforts to safeguard the Mekong Delta as well.

The agricultural and industrial center of the nation is one of the most exposed regions in the world to sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, flooding, and shifting rainfall patterns.

He claimed that initiatives to safeguard the Mekong Delta were crucial for Vietnam as well as for other countries around the world.

With young people

The Secretary-General also took part in a discussion at the Academy of Diplomacy on “Innovation and Participation for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future” with Vietnamese youth representatives and UN peacekeepers from that nation.

He emphasised that overcoming the climate issue and other existing or impending global challenges requires solidarity.

There is a chance for new pandemics

Inequality and climate change are global problems. There is only one way to overcome these obstacles, and that is if we pool our resources and work together. And to do that, true solidarity is required.

Later that day, the Secretary-General tweeted an appeal to all young people around the globe to never give up hope.

You can rely on me to spread the word about your initiatives to create a more just and sustainable future for all of us, he added.

Alongside Bui Thanh Son, the foreign minister of Vietnam, Mr. Guterres participated in tree-planting activities at the academy.

UN-Viet Nam collaboration

On Friday, the Secretary-General travelled to Vietnam and took part in the ceremony honouring the country’s 45 years as a UN Member State.

He lauded the nation’s solid relationship with the UN and its “amazing journey” during this time, which he described as a tale of change and optimism that the Vietnamese people had created for themselves.

A little more than a generation ago, UN personnel were in Vietnam distributing food supplies to a nation that was isolated, devastated by war, and on the verge of famine, he recounted.

Vietnamese peacekeepers are helping people in some of the most hopeless places in the world today.

Sacrifice and service

He claimed that Vietnamese “blue helmets” are serving in nations like the Central African Republic and putting their lives in danger to provide the people there the chance for peace, hope, and a better life.

Additionally, the number of women serving as UN peacekeepers in the nation is twice as high as the global average.

In addition, the Secretary-General praised Vietnam’s unwavering dedication to achieving sustainable development.

Cooperation and solidarity

Mr. Guterres spoke about the need for justice as well as for more unity and cooperation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the war in Ukraine.

And in our fight against the climate disaster, we need it more urgently than anywhere else, he added.

The head of the UN highlighted that the COP27 must place a moral priority on taking action to address loss and damage.

Mr. Guterres spent five days in the area.

Before going to Vietnam, he traveled to India, where, among other things, he took part in a ceremony to commemorate the nation’s 75th anniversary of independence.

Additionally, he visited the nation’s first solar-powered community to observe how green energy is transforming the local way of life.

Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network