UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits and talks at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

On the morning of 23 May 2015, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited and talked to staff and students from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) after attending the inauguration ceremony of the Green One UN House (GOUNH) in Vietnam. The talk took place in joyful, respectful but intimate atmosphere.

At the opening, Dr. Dang Dinh Quy, DAV’s President, delivered a speech welcoming UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the DAV which has trained a number of brilliant leaders and diplomats in Vietnam like Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh amongst others.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon talks at DAV

In his speech, Mr. Ban expressed his pleasure at the achievements that Vietnam has recently made in socio-economic development, and gradually eliminated the signs of devastated areas and the difficulties that remain from the war. He also said that Vietnam is increasingly asserting its position as a regular and proactive member of the international community, especially with regards to UN target programs on sustainable development.

Talking about peace and sustainable development, Mr. Ban emphasized that "there cannot be sustainable peace without development, and there will be no development without peace as a platform. Thus, these two factors always go hand in hand."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also spent most of his time talking about the challenges that the world faces as well as the importance of young people in addressing such challenges. He pointed out that, at present, there exists, in the world, people struggling with hunger; social inequality, especially women, young girls and people who are still suffering from severe consequences of climate change. “It is time to act", he added and expressed confidence that, if united, we can completely solve the root of our global problems. The world is for the youth and the youth should be leaders right from today. Young people need to speak out on issues that they are concerned about, with enthusiasm, tolerance, passion and ambition. If so, the youth will truly become "responsible global citizens".

DAV students pose questions to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

During the talk, DAV students attentively listened and posed many questions to the UN Secretary-General. All the students felt that it was a great honour to meet and hear Ban Ki-moon talk. It would also be a valuable opportunity to gain more knowledge and trust in a better world.

UN Secretary-General and his wife take souvenir photos with DAV staff and students

By Liem Hoang - Photos: DAV