General Secretary and President To Lam speaks at a meeting with American friends – Photo: VNA
23/09/2026 22:05
Reaffirming Viet Nam’s commitment to multilateral cooperation
The 81st session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 8, 2026, under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.” The High-Level General Debate is being held from September 22 to 26 and on September 28 at UN Headquarters in New York.
According to Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, To Lam is expected to reaffirm Viet Nam’s support for the central role of the United Nations, respect for the UN Charter and international law, and the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation. He is also expected to share Viet Nam’s experience after four decades of Doi Moi and highlight areas for international cooperation, including climate change, sustainable development and the governance of emerging technologies.
Viet Nam’s contributions to the UN have become increasingly substantive, including hosting the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime, being re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2026–2028 term, chairing the 35th Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS, and having a Viet Nam representative elected as a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for 2026–2035.
Advancing the Viet Nam–US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: Viet Nam and the United States established their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023. During the current programme in New York, To Lam has reaffirmed Viet Nam’s importance attached to the partnership and its wish to work with the Trump Administration to advance bilateral relations in a stable, substantive, effective and sustainable manner.
On September 21, To Lam met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who said the two sides had made significant progress and were approaching a final agreement on a reciprocal, fair and balanced trade agreement. To Lam called for continued efforts to address outstanding trade issues and further expand economic, trade and investment cooperation.
Trade and economic cooperation remains a major pillar of bilateral relations. The October 2025 framework covers market access, non-tariff barriers, digital trade, services and investment, intellectual property, labour, environment, customs, supply-chain resilience and measures against tariff evasion.
Beyond trade, the current programme also includes engagement with the US Congress, American friends, businesses, experts and academic communities, while cooperation continues across science and technology, education, security and defence, war-legacy remediation and other areas.
Connecting multilateral and bilateral diplomacy: The programme in the United States brings together two closely connected dimensions of Vietnam’s foreign policy: active participation in the United Nations multilateral system and the further development of its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the United States.
At the UN, Viet Nam is reaffirming its commitment to international cooperation and contributing to discussions on global challenges. In Washington and New York, bilateral engagements are focused on translating high-level understandings into concrete cooperation and practical outcomes.
The coming days will therefore provide an important opportunity for Viet Nam to articulate its priorities at the UN General Assembly while continuing to deepen practical and substantive cooperation with the United States.