Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung,

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem,

The Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki,

Distinguished Ministers,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me at the onset, to convey the warm greetings and wishes of the United Nations Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki Moon for the success of this important forum.

I would also like to seize this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government and the People of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for the warm hospitality I have received since my arrival in this millennium city of Hanoi and the excellent arrangements made for our welfare.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honored to be representing the United Nations at this important international Forum which is aimed at strengthening the bridge of cooperation between Viet Nam and Africa. You may recall that this initiative was launched in May 2003 by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and was highly praised and considered as an emblem of South-South Cooperation during the second Asia – Africa Summit of April 2005 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

We salute the heroic people and government of Vietnam who have achieved remarkable socio-economic progress in recent decades in the aftermath of war and widespread destruction. Your achievements are not only an inspiration to Africa but a powerful example.

We recall the mutual solidarity with, and support for the respective liberation struggles of Africa and Viet Nam.  Since that time, Viet Nam has marked its commitments to this friendship by enhancing and promoting its cooperation with African countries in the context of Asia-Africa Partnerships and in the spirit of Bandung, guided by the principles of Friendship, Cooperation and Solidarity. Nowadays, with the impact of globalization and sustained economic progress, Viet Nam has been able to broaden and foster its relationships and enhance multifaceted cooperation for development with African countries.

In this regard, I wish to commend the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for their active and key roles in the implementation of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership and the Viet Nam –Africa Cooperation Forum.  

Allow me to also underscore the leadership role and vision of Viet Nam in the regional context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and congratulate the Government for its accession to the Chairmanship of ASEAN.

In view of the commitments and key achievements made by Viet Nam towards the consolidation of ASEAN and the establishment of ASEAN Community, I am confident that Viet Nam will be successful in also integrating African countries in the regional framework of ASEAN to boost mutual sustainable development.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since 2003, the Vietnam-Africa International Forum has been able to enhance mutual understanding and promote cooperation through a comprehensive dialogue mechanism. The volume of trade between the two partners has steadily increased from US$360 million in 2003 to $2.07 billion in 2009, which is more than the double of the US$1 billion target set for 2010. There has been an improvement in terms of availability of business information through the launch of the Viet Nam-Africa portal gate. This cooperation was able to promote South-South Cooperation in agricultural, aquaculture, healthcare and education sectors, respectively. This growing cooperation between Vietnam and African nations has also been implemented with the financial support extended by international organizations like the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) or development partners such as France and Japan (through its TICAD initiative) and South Africa. These are excellent examples of triangular cooperation.  

Mr. Prime Minister,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The United Nations and its Secretary-General acknowledge the special relevance of South-South Cooperation and the steady expansion of economic and other relations between Africa and Asian countries in general, and Viet Nam in particular. The United Nations, using its unique convening power, legitimacy and universality of membership, has been playing a crucial role in supporting South-South Cooperation initiatives as well as in providing platforms for dialogue between developed and developing nations.

South-South Cooperation should be viewed as complementary to, rather than a substitute for, North–South Cooperation. The international community, especially bilateral donors and emerging partners, should be encouraged to support South-South Cooperation through triangular cooperation arrangements.

Development challenges facing low-income countries are so enormous that additional and complementary support is most welcome, especially in view of the global challenges facing the world currently, such as the aftermath of the global food, energy, economic and financial crises, as well as the climate change problem.

These challenges have rendered prospects of developing countries and particularly Africa, attaining most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, somewhat problematic. With less than five years left, the UN Secretary-General has called for joint efforts to make 2010 a year of sustainable development, including taking the necessary steps for lasting and robust economic recovery.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We applaud the steady progress achieved towards attainment of the MDGs by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and urge the international community to meet their commitments in order to support Viet Nam and African countries in their quest for achieving all the MDGs by 2015.

The UN Secretary-General is looking forward to the active participation of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and each country represented here to boost progress against poverty at the forthcoming 20-22 September 2010 UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite the mixed results regarding the MDGs, Africa has made significant progress on both economic and security fronts, including high economic growth rates culminating at 6.1 per cent in 2007 and a significant reduction of armed conflicts over the last decade. The African economies benefited from a combination of favorable factors including high commodity prices and rapidly growing export volumes, better macroeconomic management and performance, debt relief, sustained aid and FDI. Regarding the MDGs, sub-Sahara African countries were able to register fast progress in making primary education available to school-age children – improving from 58 per cent enrolment in 1999 to 76 per cent in 2008.

In spite of the global economic and financial crises, African countries have been able to get back on the path of recovery this year as in the case of Viet Nam.

This has been made possible thanks to the recovery that is taking place in Asia and the increasing relations between Asia and Africa since 2000. For instance, UNCTAD noted a marked increase in the importance of developing countries in Africa’s merchandise trade, led by Asia since the 1990s.

The growing relationship between Africa and Viet Nam is welcome because it has a great potential to develop productive capacity and contribute to the achievement of sustained growth and poverty reduction. However, to unleash this potential, African countries need to be proactive in incorporating their development priorities such as those referred to in the NEPAD.  Africa needs to engage actively in the implementation of the partnership in a structured way under the auspices of the African Union and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency.

Beyond the friendship and solidarity, Africa offers a great potential for its partners by providing a market of 1 billion consumers, natural resources and a strong support on global issues such as the climate changes and multilateral trade negotiations. Africa needs external capital, technology and technical expertise to address its development needs. 

The current Viet Nam – Africa International Forum on Cooperation for Sustainable Development is more than relevant and timely for this global effort towards the achievement of internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs. The United Nations look forward to the strengthening of this partnership.

In conclusion, I call upon all the honorable delegates to engage actively in the Forum in order to take the Viet Nam –Africa partnership to a higher level and register an additional success in international cooperation for Sustainable Development.

I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Thank you.