Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesperson Lê Thị Thu Hằng made the remark yesterday during a regular press conference held in Hanoi.

“I am confident in Vietnam’s capacity to hold international-level events, evidenced by the successful hosting of the APEC Summit in 2017 as well as other international conferences,” Hằng said, referring to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held in Đà Nẵng in 2017 and the World Economic Forum on ASEAN held in Hà Nội in 2018, both of which assembled several world leaders.

“The venue and the time for the US-North Korea summit would be up for the two countries to decide,” she said, adding that Vietnam is willing and ready to make “positive contributions” to the maintenance of peace and stability and sustenance of dialogues on the Korean peninsula.

She also said there has not been information yet on whether there would be a State visit by US President Trump or North Korean leader Kim.

For weeks, foreign media has speculated Vietnam is the preferred choice for hosting the high-profile event, but no official confirmation has been made yet.

The White House earlier said that the second summit, following the landmark one in Singapore last year, would be held in late February and that a location has been decided but gave no further details.

Venezuela upheaval

Responding to queries on the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela, Hằng said Vietnam “always wishes for peace and stability in Venezuela.”

“Vietnam wants to promote friendly ties and multifaceted co-operation between Vietnam and Venezuela for the benefits of the two peoples, which would contribute to peace, stability and development in the region and in the world,” Hằng said.

She also added that the Vietnamese foreign ministry would consider issuing appropriate warnings to Vietnamese citizens in cases of emergencies.

Human rights guaranteed

Responding questions on the content of Vietnam’s national report under the third-cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Hằng said Vietnam has received 300 human rights-related recommendations during the dialogue session on the report held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

All of the recommendations would be studied by Vietnam’s authorities and a report would then be delivered to the Prime Minister for review, Hằng said.

The list of accepted recommendations would be announced during the June session of the UNHRC.

“Vietnam respects and seriously observes the universal periodic review, a successful mechanism by the UNHRC for its basis on the principles of equality, dialogues and co-operation,” she said.

Vietnam considers this both an obligation as a UN member and an opportunity for the country to introduce to the international community its achievements, policies and efforts to ensure human rights, the spokesperson said.

Concerning the progress on the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Hằng stressed the deal holds significant meaning and brings a great deal of benefits to both sides’ peoples and business communities.

“With this spirit, the two sides are continuing to complete the procedures to sign, ratify and implement the deal quickly,” she said.
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