MAY 22 (Reuters) — United Nation General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon met with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi Friday (May 22) as part of his two-day visit to the South East Asia nation.
The General Secretary discussed with Vietnamese leaders on UN-Vietnam cooperation, UN peacekeeping operations and other issues, including regional security and human rights.
Vietnam became a UN member in 1977 and is a current member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2013-2016 term.
“Human rights council members are expected to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights,” said Ban at a news conference.
“This places Vietnam in an ideal position to demonstrate its commitment to human rights and working to improve its own domestic human rights records”, Ban added.
The General Secretary also made a remark on the maritime territories tension that involves Vietnam, China and other Asian countries.
“It is important to avoid the actions that will provoke or exaggerate the tensions. I hope the on-going confrontation between ASEAN members, member states and China, under the proposed Code of Conduct, under the framework of decoration, under code of parties in the South China Sea, will lead to increase the mutual understanding between all parties.” he said.
After the meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Ban is scheduled to hold talks with Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong and attend the opening ceremony of the environmental friendly UN office in Hanoi.
This is his second visit to Vietnam since he took office in 2007.