Viet Nam vows to strive for nuclear weapons-free world

MEXICO CITY — Along with other peace-loving nations, Viet Nam is committed to striving for a world free from nuclear weapons, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh told a Nuclear-Free Conference in Mexico City last week.

As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Disarmament Conference, the Southeast Asian nuclear weapon-free zone, and a non-nuclear weapon state, Viet Nam supports disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, he said.

Minh, who headed the Vietnamese delegation to the conference, urged nations worldwide to implement nuclear disarmament, ensure security, and not to use nuclear weapons to attack other countries. Minh affirmed that Viet Nam firmly supports research on the development and use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

The Conference of States Parties to Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones, held April 26-28, was attended by representatives of nearly 100 countries and many non-governmental organisations who adopted a final declaration calling for increased multilateral cooperation in implementing disarmament and nuclear weapon non-proliferation and building a nuclear weapons-free world.

The declaration stressed that the complete abolition of weapons of mass destruction is the only way to ensure such weapons are not used. The establishment of nuclear weapon-free zones is considered an effective measure to promote nuclear weapons non-proliferation and disarmament, the declaration added.

The declaration also called for more cooperation with and technical assistance to developing countries and confirmed that every nation has the right to conduct researching, develop and use nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

Viet Nam News, May 3, 2005