In the first round of voting, Vietnam, Burkina Faso and Libya were elected to the non-permanent member seats. Two seats for the groups of Eastern European and Caribbean Latin American countries had to be re-voted as candidates did not win two-thirds of voting.

At the main hall of the General Assembly, representatives of many countries warmly congratulated the Vietnamese representative on the event.

Vietnam will officially begin work in the Council from January 1, 2008, replacing Qatar, representing Asian countries, which will conclude its term on December 31, 2007. Six weeks before that date, the Vietnamese representative and his counterparts from other newly-elected member countries will be permitted to attend all sessions of the council as observers.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said "Becoming one of the 15 members of the most important agency of the largest international organisation is a great honour that also comes along with a heavy responsibility. A non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for its full participation in the process of drafting and building the Council’s important decisions on the most important issues related to peace and security in various regions and the world as a whole.”

To fulfill the task, Vietnam will also adhere to the guidelines, goals, and principles of the UN Charter and international law besides actively asking for consultancy from and cooperating closely with other UN Security Council members to develop appropriate policies for the sake of the legitimate interests of all UN member countries, said Mr Dung.