• U.S. Embassy Press Release

Helping Vietnam prepare to serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2008-2009) was the focus of an Outreach event held in Hanoi, Dec. 11-14, 2007.

The seminar on “UN Security Council: The Role of Non-Permanent Member,” was conducted in partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Institute for International Relations (IIR), the main policy think tank and training arm of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The seminar offered an opportunity for the Vietnamese diplomats and other government officials to benefit from a U.S. expertise on the UNSC as well as key international and regional security trends and challenges. The participants expanded their knowledge of substantive and procedural matters related to the UNSC work, role-played a UNSC case study, as well as discussed Vietnam’s responsibilities, challenges and opportunities of UNSC membership. They also developed recommendations for the Government of Vietnam on required preparatory steps and interagency coordination related to Vietnam’s new UNSC role.

High level support from both the U.S. Embassy and Vietnam MOFA was provided throughout the event. Amb. Michael Michalak and IIR Director Amb. Duong Van Quang opened the seminar. The final brief was presented to Deputy Director of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tran Bich Van; Chief of UNSC Office MOFA Nguyen Thi Van Anh; and U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Jon Aloisi.

The APCSS team was led by retired U.S. Amb. Charles Salmon, included APCSS Professors Rouben Azizian, Alfred Oehlers and Thomas Peterman, logistics coordinator Lynne Yamashita, and was supported by retired Amb. Peter Burleigh, who had direct experience in the UNSC while he was Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States at the United Nations.

The Vietnamese side was led by Dr. Ngo Duy Ngo, IIR Deputy Director General and a recent APCSS graduate (ASC 07-2), and included 40 representatives of MOFA, Defense, Public Security, National Assembly, President’s and Prime Minister’s offices. Senior diplomats of the U.S. Embassy, as well as several APCSS alumni, were also in attendance.

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More than 40 attendees participated in the “UN Security Council: The Role of Non-Permanent Member” seminar hosted by the Institute for International Relations (IIR) and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS).

 

U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak and Vietnam Ambassador Duong Van Quang attended the event.