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| Opening ceremony of the photo exhibition “17 Vietnamese Faces of Action for Sustainable Development” on October 20 in Hanoi. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The commitments that Vietnam presented at the SDG Summit are a testament to its human development as well as its strong determination to achieve the 2030 Agenda with 17 SDGs - keeping the promise of leaving no one behind.
Speaking at the opening of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, held on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA) on September 19, UN Secretary-General Guterres pointed out that the risk the world is facing is “leaving the SDGs behind” and not just leaving anyone behind, with only 15% of the goals being implemented on schedule while many other goals are reversed.
How to keep the promise to billions of people around the world who have placed their hopes, dreams and future in the hands of their leaders, UN Secretary-General Guterres answered firmly: “Act together now”!
Vietnam, an active and responsible member of the United Nations, always puts people at the center, with the aspiration to join hands to bring peace and happiness to humanity. The S-shaped country has been and is always in a state of "action" from policy to practice, contributing to "rescuing" sustainable development goals, firmly serving as a good model for many developing countries - as UN Secretary-General Guterres has repeatedly affirmed.
Self-reliance, self-improvement and cooperation
Supporting the SDGs, Vietnam will make stronger and more responsible contributions to the UN's priorities, including promoting participation in peacekeeping; striving to achieve net zero emissions by 2050; ensuring domestic food security while contributing to ensuring global food security... These are clear messages highlighted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when speaking at the recent High-level General Debate of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA.
This demonstrates Vietnam’s determination and strong commitment despite the “ever-changing” circumstances of the world situation, which could blow away all efforts for human rights over the past decades. The SDGs are not simply a list but contain many hopes, ambitions, rights and expectations of many people around the world, providing the most secure roadmap for them to fulfill their obligations as stated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
| During his working trip to Vietnam on October 19-20, the Director General of the UN Office in Geneva was particularly impressed by Vietnam's efforts to facilitate women's participation in politics, empower women in the economy, promote women's role in science, technology and innovation; thereby promoting gender equality in all aspects of implementing the 2030 Agenda. |
Currently, Vietnam is actively coordinating with organizations in the UN system to carry out many cooperation activities such as implementing SDGs, responding to climate change, digital transformation, green transformation, ensuring social justice, participating in peacekeeping forces, etc.
As Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized when receiving the UN Resident Coordinator and Heads of 13 UN organizations in Vietnam on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the UN on October 24: “Vietnam strives to implement the SDGs on the basis of promoting the spirit of self-reliance and self-reliance with international support, including the UN... Vietnam always respects, listens to and requests UN organizations in Vietnam to continue providing policy advice, supporting institutional improvement, training human resources, and improving national governance capacity”.
Since the first Voluntary National Review of Vietnam’s SDG implementation in 2018, Vietnam has experienced a difficult period due to the prolonged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic; high food and fuel prices, strong fluctuations in financial markets globally…
In that context, Vietnam continues to strongly commit to implementing the SDGs with the National Action Plan as the foundation. All 17 SDGs have been integrated into socio-economic development strategies, plans and sectoral policies at both national and local levels. The entire political system and society have made efforts to implement the SDGs with the core motto of “leaving no one behind”.
Vietnam has made remarkable progress in implementing SDG 1, SDG 6, SDG 9, SDG 10, SDG 16 and SDG 17 and made certain progress towards the remaining goals. To successfully implement the 2030 Agenda in the remaining half of the journey, Vietnam continues to prioritize investment in human resource development, science and technology, innovation; perfecting and improving the quality of socialist-oriented market economic institutions; promoting reform of the social security system; maintaining macroeconomic stability; mobilizing the participation of all stakeholders and accompanying all partners to complete the SDGs for all by 2030…
Vietnam's efforts have been recognized by the UN and the international community. During his visit to Vietnam in 2022 and in high-level meetings with Vietnamese leaders, the UN Secretary-General highly appreciated Vietnam's excellent cooperation and support for the UN in all priority areas of activity, especially sustainable development, ensuring water security, food security, etc.
Or in a recent meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis affirmed that Vietnam's viewpoint promotes multilateralism, which is a testament to the common commitment to peace, development, people-centeredness, happiness, prosperity, and cooperation - the pillars of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
| Vietnam is considered by the United Nations and the international community as a successful example in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and a country determined and serious in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change. |
Gender Equality - Key to Development
Participating in initiatives to promote the implementation of the SDGs is also one of Vietnam's efforts that remains consistent in the spirit of "action".
Recently, Vietnam was one of the countries participating in the “17 Faces of Action” initiative initiated by Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director General of the UN Office in Geneva and the Swiss Association for Women’s Empowerment (ASWE). Vietnam’s participation in this initiative is one of the directions to effectively implement Vietnam’s priorities during its term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term on enhancing cooperation and dialogue within the international community to promote gender equality as well as implement the SDGs.
“17 Vietnamese Faces of Action for Sustainable Development” are 17 Vietnamese women with outstanding contributions to the 17 SDGs. 17 different stories, but together they form a comprehensive picture representing tens of millions of Vietnamese women who are striving every day to build prosperous and happy families and communities, as well as contributing to the common efforts of the international community for sustainable development.
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| Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition “17 Vietnamese Faces of Action for Sustainable Development” on October 20 at the Hanoi Women’s Museum. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The 17 “beauties” shining in each specific development area clearly convey the message about Vietnam’s priorities in promoting gender equality and sustainable development. Women’s participation is the key to Vietnam’s socio-economic development, achieving the goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045. Investing in gender equality is also one of the most powerful actions to promote sustainable development.
Currently, Vietnam is one of the countries that has achieved the earliest millennium goals on gender equality and women's empowerment and is making efforts to implement the 2030 sustainable development agenda, including goals on promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Looking back from a poor and backward country, Vietnam has risen strongly with the achievements of more than 35 years of renovation, becoming an increasingly effective and substantial contributor to all the pillars of the UN and in solving global issues. The time to move towards the SDGs is running out and in the face of many challenges, Vietnam will always move towards the finish line with steady steps, a spirit of "action" and a will to never retreat.
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