President Luong Cuong and his spouse, together with Vietnam’s high-level delegation, on September 21 left Hanoi Hanoi to attend the High-Level General Debate of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-80), and engage in bilateral activities in the United States.

The visit to the US also marks two years since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership and coincides with the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It reaffirms Vietnam’s steadfast implementation of an independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative, and development-oriented foreign policy; its commitment to diversifying and multi-lateralizing relations and deepening ties; and its proactive and active participation in comprehensive and extensive international integration.

Vietnam officially joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. Looking back over nearly half a century, cooperation between Vietnam and the UN has achieved remarkable progress across multiple dimensions and at various levels. The United Nations has been a trusted and close friend of Vietnam since the early days of post-war national reconstruction and throughout the country’s renewal process. Vietnam has consistently affirmed its proactive role and positive contributions to UN activities, while deeply sharing the organization’s core values.

From a recipient of United Nations aid, Vietnam has transformed into a trusted and effective UN partner, ranking as the 49th largest contributor to the UN budget and participating increasingly substantively across all three main pillars: peace and security, development cooperation, and human rights. Cooperation with the United Nations has consistently held a central place in Vietnam’s foreign policy, reflecting the will and aspirations of the Vietnamese people alongside the global community to strive for peace, independence, democracy, cooperation, and development.

Vietnam has proactively made positive and substantive contributions to UN activities, emphasizing the UN’s role and multilateralism, promoting respect for the UN Charter, international law, equal relations and development cooperation among countries, and the right to self-determination of peoples, opposing oppression, aggression, and unilateral sanctions in international relations; it has also participated in discussions and contributed to the adoption of numerous important UN resolutions and declarations on development cooperation, disarmament, prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, counterterrorism, and the protection of human rights.

During its terms as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2008-2009 and 2020-2021), Vietnam proposed numerous initiatives and solutions to deal with global issues, such as the International Day for Epidemic Preparedness on December 27, the establishment of the UN Friends of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Group, addressing the aftermath of unexploded ordnance, protecting critical infrastructure in conflicts, and boosting cooperation between the UN and ASEAN.

Vietnam has also actively participated in UN peacekeeping missions; by April 2025, the country had deployed nearly 1,100 officers and personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. The nation currently ranks among the countries with the highest proportion of female personnel contributing to UN peacekeeping missions (14.5%).

The UN and the international community recognize Vietnam as a successful model in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and as a country committed to fully carrying out the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the “For Future” document.

Vietnam has also actively promoted United Nations reform initiatives, and is particularly recognized as one of the leading countries in implementing the UN “Delivering as One” initiative to enhance the effectiveness of UN operations at the national level.

Thanks to its contributions, the country has earned the trust to be elected to numerous key positions and bodies within the United Nations, leaving a distinct “Vietnamese imprint” across institutions such as the General Assembly, the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Regarding the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership, relations continue to develop deeply, maintaining a positive momentum and achieving notable results, with increasing strategic substance across all areas of cooperation. This is shown in the maintenance and expansion of exchanges at all levels, especially high-level contacts.

There have been numerous meetings and phone calls between Vietnamese leaders and the US President, previously with President Joe Biden and currently with President Donald Trump. In recent months, Party General Secretary To Lam has held four telephone conversations with President Donald Trump. These high-level interactions provide a foundation and direction for the development of bilateral relations across various fields.

President Luong Cuong’s participation in the High-Level General Debate of UNGA-80 underscores Vietnam’s support for multilateralism and its regard for the UN, helping to raise Vietnam’s international standing while deepening and making more effective the country’s relations with the UN, its partners, and international friends. It will also contribute to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development between Vietnam and the US.

The Vietnamese State leader’s visit further affirms Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization, as well as its proactive and comprehensive integration into the international community. It highlights Vietnam’s vision and solutions on the role of the United Nations and major global issues.

Vietnamese President departs Hanoi for UNGA-80 high-level debate

VOV.VN - State President Luong Cuong and his wife, along with a Vietnamese high-level delegation, left Hanoi on the morning of September 21 for the US to attend the High-Level General Debate of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-80) and take part in a series of bilateral activities.