Promote cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on April 5-6 (local time) met with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed during his trip to the US to attend the 2024 Vietnam Executive Leadership Programme (VELP) in Boston. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the world is entering an important period with many global challenges, requiring countries to uphold multilateralism and promote cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals.

Acknowledging that Vietnam is an important partner of the UN, she expected that the country will coordinate in implementing agendas, including climate change response, energy transition, digital transformation, maintaining food supply chains, promoting education, and ensuring inclusive development, and social justice, among others.

She affirmed that UN organisations are ready to support Vietnam in mobilising resources, thereby helping the country accelerate the implementation of development goals, especially on energy transition and response to climate change.

Le Minh Khai affirmed that Vietnam persistently supports multilateralism and a world order based on international law and the UN Charter, advocates the central role of the UN in the global governance system to respond to common challenges and will contribute to major priorities of the UN in the coming time. He asked the UN to prioritise supporting Vietnam in mobilising finance, transferring technology, and sharing knowledge and practical experience, especially in areas such as improving climate change response and adaptation, effective management of water resources, energy transition, innovation, and digital transformation.

Improve social welfare, and narrow the gap between rich and poor

He said Vietnam has implemented policies on education, social security, hunger eradication, and poverty reduction and seen concrete achievements. Vietnam’s multidimensional poverty rate fell from 9.2 to 4.3% in 2022, the average income of poor households increased 230% and the rate of literacy and school attendance rose to 90%.   

Promoting social progress and justice is a primary policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Party has been consistent in putting people at the center. Its desire to ensure social progress and justice has been manifested in socio-economic development policies and programs. Vietnam aims to create a prosperous, stable life for all ethnic communities, focus on the disadvantaged in order to leave no one behind, improve social welfare, and narrow the gap between rich and poor.

As a result, Vietnam has reduced gender inequality and shortened the gap between rich and poor with nationwide implementation of the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in the 2021-2025 period, with a focus on poor districts and especially difficult communes in coastal and island areas. Vietnam achieved the Millennium Goal of eliminating extreme poverty and hunger and reducing poverty as the economy grows. Health insurance coverage expanded from 60.9% in 2010 to 94.11% this year. While it has not been able to ensure free education for everyone, Vietnam has focused on eliminating illiteracy, universalizing primary education in 2000 and universalizing lower secondary education in 2010. The number of university and college students has increased 18 fold over the past 40 years.

The consistent views of the Party and State and achievements in social progress and justice are testaments to the goodness of the Vietnamese socialist regime. At its 13th National Congress, the Party acknowledged the need to sustainably manage social development; ensure social progress and justice; implement economic, social progress, and social justice goals; and allocate resources properly to improve social development.

In its economic development policies, Vietnam will continue to focus on ensuring social progress and justice and promoting a social management and development model suitable to the new situation.

Vietnam aims to develop a comprehensive social security system

Vietnam will continue to implement social incentives and support policies in order to stabilize and improve the quality of life of disadvantaged groups, narrow the gap in living standards, and expand access to resources. Vietnam will help poor and disadvantaged groups get an education and a sustainable livelihood.

Vietnam will improve its forecast of social changes and develop policies suitable to new conditions and context.

Vietnam aims to develop a comprehensive social security system, moving towards universal coverage; reform the multi-tiered social insurance system; implement coordinated, multi-dimensional and sustainable poverty reduction solutions; and guarantee people a minimum standard of living and basic s ervices.

Attaining development and social justice goals will not be easy, but with the right orientation, a determination on the part of all sectors and localities at all levels, and greater international cooperation, Vietnam hopes to gain greater achievements in ensuring social justice.

*** During his trip to Cornell Tech University under Cornell University, the Vietnamese Deputy PM spoke highly of the school’s cooperation with Vietnamese universities as well as the quality of Vietnamese students at the university and asked the school to continue to promote cooperation and coordination in joint training programmes with major universities in Vietnam.

At a business discussion held by BCIU with the participation of nearly 20 large US businesses in banking, finance, technology, telecommunications, services, health care, and education, Khai praised the development of Vietnam - US relations in all fields, with trade and investment relations as the pillars and driving forces, He also appreciated US enterprises' production and business investment activities in Vietnam.

The Deputy PM proposed that US businesses further expand operations in the Southeast Asian country, focusing on areas where Vietnam has demands and US businesses have strengths; continue to propose, comment, and recommend policies on digital transformation, high-quality human resources training, infrastructure development, and information technology.

"The Vietnamese Government commits to always accompanying and creating favourable conditions for foreign investors in general and US investors in particular to resolve difficulties and obstacles facing them in order to help them implement business and investment projects effectively and sustainably in Vietnam," he stressed.

Leaders of local enterprises said they look forward to learning more about Vietnam's development strategy to invest more in Vietnam, thereby contributing to the development of Vietnam - US relations and supporting Vietnam's growth.