Vietnam calls for global cooperation on natural resource governance for peace

Vietnam has called for a comprehensive, long-term and country-specific approach that integrates natural resource management into conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts, while ensuring that resource-owning countries and communities fully benefit from their legitimate natural wealth.

Speaking at a high-level open debate of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York on July 22, Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hai Luu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, highlighted the growing link between natural resources, global peace and security, particularly amid the energy transition and climate change.

Drawing on ASEAN's experience, he urged stronger regional and international cooperation to develop harmonised and transparent rules and standards that fully respect national sovereignty and ownership over natural resources. He also called for efforts to prevent the politicisation and weaponisation of supply chains, alongside expanded technical assistance and technology transfer to help developing countries process and use mineral resources sustainably.

The Vietnamese diplomat reaffirmed Vietnam's commitment to responsible natural resource governance and expressed the country's readiness to work closely with international partners to ensure natural resources become a driver of peace, prosperity and sustainable development.

The debate, themed “Natural Resource Governance: A Foundation for Peace, Security, and Prosperity,” was chaired by the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UNSC President for July 2026.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and senior representatives from 65 UN member states, as well as regional and international organisations, attended the meeting.

Guterres warned that illegal resource exploitation will continue to fuel inequality, instability and violence unless the international community takes stronger and more effective action. He called for an end to illicit exploitation and urged greater fairness across resource value chains, ensuring that countries and local communities are the primary beneficiaries of their own natural resources.

Participants echoed concerns over the security implications of resource exploitation and underscored the need for transparent, inclusive and sustainable governance.