On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's attendance at the High-level General Debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (September 19-25), Ms. Rana Flowers, Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, shared about Vietnam's efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Towards a "Plan to Save People and the Planet"
Ms. Rana Flowers, Acting Resident Coordinator of the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam, said the SDG Summit marks the halfway point in implementing the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The conference is an opportunity for world leaders to assess progress towards these goals to date, to review which goals are on track, and which goals have not yet achieved the desired progress.
According to Ms. Rana Flowers, this is a pivotal moment in the development process of the whole world, when countries, following the call of the UN Secretary-General, commit to accelerate and create breakthroughs to ensure that the planet we live on will develop stronger by the end of this decade. "We can do a lot in the next 7 years, with the right political will," Ms. Rana Flowers emphasized.
"The complex and intertwined crises that are unfolding and impacting the world mean that the progress we have made so far is putting our promises and commitments in jeopardy," said the UN Resident Coordinator. "This year's Summit must therefore represent a turning point, with an urgent call to action, securing the commitment of world leaders, creating momentum and breakthroughs, to deliver a 'Rescue Plan for People and the Planet' with concrete targets . "
According to Ms. Rana Flowers, the Vietnamese Government will bring to this year’s Summit a national report that will demonstrate the progress that Vietnam has made. Together with other leaders attending, Vietnam will make a strong commitment to address areas of gaps, need for government funding, areas where data is lacking, need for action to protect biodiversity, take action to stop the pace of the climate crisis, and identify vulnerable groups at risk of being left behind.
"The commitments that Vietnam presented at the SDG Summit are a testament to its human development, as well as its strong commitment and determination to the 2030 Agenda with 17 SDGs – keeping the promise of leaving no one behind," said Ms. Rana Flowers.
The more powerful the action, the more resources it attracts.
According to the UN Resident Coordinator, Vietnam's commitments and actions in the upcoming SDG report are very important.
Accordingly, as one of the countries that has made good progress on SDGs, Vietnam can share its experiences with other countries.
As the 15th most populous country in the world and one of the fastest growing and most integrated economies, Vietnam can effectively use its voice to contribute ideas, promote increased investment and innovation, to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.
The stronger Vietnam’s commitments and actions towards the sustainable SDGs in the future, the more development partners will actively provide financial and technical resources to accelerate the SDGs, including addressing the climate crisis – while Vietnam is among the 20 most affected countries.
"I believe that, coming to this Summit, Vietnam will demonstrate its strong progress, as well as reflect on areas where you have not made as much progress as expected," said the UN Resident Coordinator.
The fact that Vietnam is rapidly becoming a powerhouse in solar panel production, reducing its dependence on coal, and making efforts to protect biodiversity, ensure clean water, transform its education system, address gender imbalances, improve child nutrition, etc. These are prime examples of development indicators that deserve attention today, not only for their global assessment in the next 7 years, but because the countries that lead in these areas will lead the world in economic growth, protection of the planet, and prosperity for their people.
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The UN Resident Coordinator assessed that Vietnam has made significant progress on many sustainable development goals and targets. (Source: UNICEF)
Build a roadmap to fill the gap
The UN Resident Coordinator assessed that Vietnam has made significant progress on many sustainable development goals and targets. For example, Vietnam has made great progress on goals related to poverty reduction and hunger eradication; access to clean water and sanitation; industrial development and infrastructure as well as access to information technology and the Internet.
However, according to Ms. Rana Flowers, the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises have shown signs that progress on some goals is at risk of being reversed. These include natural resource management, water resources and biodiversity, renewable energy sharing, etc.
While Vietnam may achieve some of its national targets by 2030, Ms. Rana Flowers said that there are still disparities between regions and vulnerable groups (such as ethnic minorities, migrant workers, people with disabilities, youth, the elderly and others) are still at risk of being left behind, and these persistent issues are obscured by national averages.
In addition, Ms. Rana Flowers pointed out that the most worrying issue today is that there is still a significant gap in data to help evaluate and measure progress in implementing the SDGs.
Vietnam has a total of 158 national Sustainable Development Goals, but a quarter of them lack sufficient data. Less than 50% of data is published annually – and nearly 50% of that data is not disaggregated in a useful way to identify who is most affected and where – breaking down data by gender, age, location, ethnicity, children, etc. is essential.
Therefore, according to Ms. Rana Flowers, it is clear that Vietnam needs to further accelerate implementation and investment to put all the SDGs on track, to achieve all these goals by 2030. And that will not happen, without strong promotion, as well as more financial investment from the Government. This investment cannot be done in a one-time basis, but needs to be done through a clear financial plan until 2030.
Based on the UN SDG costing report (conducted by ESCAP), Vietnam needs to invest 11% of GDP per year in the 2021-2030 period to achieve the SDGs.
“Developing an SDG financing strategy will be key to this. While mobilizing additional climate and green finance is a priority, unlocking existing resources, including official development assistance (ODA), and improving the efficiency of domestic resource use are equally important,” Ms. Rana Flowers emphasized.
According to the UN Resident Coordinator, Vietnam’s partners and friends are ready to support, so it is essential to continue to simplify the processes for receiving and effectively using grants – thereby creating more funding to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
Notable contributions
Assessing Vietnam's international role and position, the UN Resident Coordinator said that Vietnam's status as a dynamic, developing and valuable member state at the UN over the past 45 years must be recognized and highly appreciated.
Accordingly, Vietnam officially joined the UN in September 1977, just two years after the war ended in 1975. Over the past 45 years, Vietnam has transformed from a country that only received UN support, to a country with increasing capacity, and strongly contributing to regional and global agendas.
Vietnam is a proactive, active and responsible member of multilateral processes. Today, Vietnam plays an important role in the region and the world. This includes its active role in peacekeeping, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term; and ASEAN Chair in 2020.
Vietnam has demonstrated itself to be an increasingly active member of the international community, including contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and the UN Security Council's Agenda on Women, Peace and Security.
Vietnam deserves to be applauded for its steadfast commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as its goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, thereby promoting the country's development in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.
According to the UN Resident Coordinator, with Vietnam's election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, the UN wishes to support Vietnam in its plan to turn human rights commitments into action.
"The United Nations welcomes Vietnam's commitments to strengthening human rights in all areas, and encourages further actions to prioritize gender equality, create a dynamic civil society space, ensure an open mechanism for the Government to listen to the voice of the people, prioritize the rights of women and children, and continue to better protect the rights of vulnerable groups, in line with international standards and practices, leaving no one behind," said Ms. Rana Flowers.
Ms. Rana Flowers emphasized that as the 15th most populous country in the world and one of the fastest growing and most integrated emerging economies, Vietnam has both position, power and obligation to contribute and influence in the international arena.
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