World’s media highlights Vietnam becoming non-permanent member of UNSC

Most news agencies in Russia on October 16 covered the vote on non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council. In its early news bulletins Interfax reported on the initial results of the vote at 20.40 local time.

The ITAR-TASS news agency, updated at 21.30, named the five countries elected as non-permanent members of the UNSC (Libya, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Croatia and Burkina-Faso).

In the first round of voting, Libya, Vietnam and Burkina-Faso easily acquired the two-thirds of the votes needed to be elected as non-permanent members. Libya received 185 votes out of 190, Vietnam received 183 votes and Burkina Faso received 178 votes.

Qatar, Vietnam’s predecessor at the UNSC, expressed its belief that Vietnam will contribute greatly to the UN’s work.

The ambassador and head of the Indonesian delegation to the UN, one of the two Asian non-permanent members of the UNSC, said Indonesia will fully cooperate with Vietnam on UN’s issues.

The Ambassador and head of the New Zealand delegation to the United Nations said that Vietnam is ready to take the responsibility of a UNSC non-permanent member and this will be a successful term for Vietnam.

Other news agencies, televisions and newspapers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland ran front page stories on the event.

The German media emphasised that this is the first time in the history of the UN that Vietnam has become one of the 15 members of the most important agency of the largest global organisation for two years. Vietnam will replace Qatar as the Asian countries representative on the UN Security Council from January 1, 2008.

The “Standard” newspaper said that Vietnam’s becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council shows that there have been significant changes in the country’s political scene in recent years. The newspaper recalled that in the 1960s and 1970s, the US and Vietnam were opponents in one of the most brutal conflicts since the Second World War.