UN Resident Coordinator Speech for UNCT Meeting with Prime Minister in Celebration of UN Day 2024

Excellency, Prime Minister, good evening. Thank you for your valuable time and hospitality.

Today we celebrate the 79th anniversary of the United Nations and the 47th year of Viet Nam’s membership in the UN. 

Our celebrations come on the heels of the Summit of the Future -- where Heads of States, including Party General Secretary, H.E. Mr. To Lam, strongly reaffirmed commitment to multilateralism, to the United Nations, its mandate and its mission in a highly volatile and uncertain global context.

Together with other countries, Viet Nam signed the Pact for the Future to turbocharge the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement -- accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels and securing a peaceful and liveable future for everyone on our planet.

At the Summit, Viet Nam also committed to the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of Artificial Intelligence – the Global Digital Compact. The Compact is based on the principle that technology should benefit everyone.

Viet Nam also agreed to the Declaration on Future Generations. It echoes the call of the UN Charter to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. The Declaration includes a groundbreaking commitment by governments to listen to young people and include them in decision-making, at the national and global levels.

Respect for human rights, cultural diversity and gender equality are woven into all three agreements. As a member of the Human Rights Council, Viet Nam has much to offer in this regard. 

Your Excellency,

Viet Nam’s proactive engagement and leadership at the Summit demonstrates a strong commitment to uphold the values of the UN Charter and to ensure that global institutions are fit for purpose in the 21st century. 

A much-needed solidarity at a time of global turbulence.

This is what we celebrate this evening – an ever-deepening partnership between the Government of Viet Nam and the UN.

At the heart of our partnership is our common aspiration to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs represent a bold vision: a commitment to a better, healthier, safer and more prosperous and sustainable future, that leaves no one behind. Inclusive and sustainable development is our best response to prevent crisis and protect from future shocks.

This vision underpins the joint UN-Government of Viet Nam Cooperation Framework for the period 2022 to 2026. 

[Pause]

Allow me, Your Excellency, to highlight four areas where we have achieved substantial progress together in the past year. I will also point to where we need to do better.

First, closely aligned with the vision of Vietnam’s leadership, we believe that investing in human capital and inclusive social development will drive Viet Nam’s prosperity. The UN has worked hand-in-hand with relevant ministries and partners in transforming education, improving health care, including maternal health care for rural communities, addressing severe malnutrition in children, reducing inequalities, strengthening national capacity for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and providing evidence-based policy options on social protection for the most vulnerable. 

Second, the UN stepped up support to the Government’s ambitious net-zero commitments, building on inclusive and innovative multi-sectoral initiatives on climate action, disaster resilience and environmental sustainability. Support to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and innovations in agrifood systems transformation are two examples to highlight. The most recent Joint Response to Typhoon Yagi and floods also showcases our joint actions for the most vulnerable communities to build back better. 

I take this opportunity to appreciate the leadership of MARD/VDDMA in the Typhoon Yagi response. Together, we will continue to build resilience to disasters and climate shocks, including through the Joint Response Plan and the on-going Viet Nam Multi-sectoral assessment. These will pave the way for prevention and preparedness in the future. 

Your Excellency, the third area to highlight --

Together we are helping to build the ecosystem for responsible business, circular economy and digital transformation. We know that the rapid advancement of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is reshaping economies and societies globally and locally. While AI offers significant advantages, there are also serious concerns about potential risks -- such as on data security, data governance and privacy. These concerns led Viet Nam to adopt the first-ever global standard on AI ethics – the UNESCO Recommendation on Ethics of AI. This includes an assessment for AI readiness, which we have launched in close collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology in August. The readiness assessment will help identify strengths and gaps in AI governance, policies and infrastructure to advance accountability, transparency and the rule of law. 

Fourth, we are jointly advancing women’s empowerment and participation -- contributing to the implementation of the National Strategy on Gender Equality and the National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). Together, we are working on eliminating violence against women and children, including support for the Decree on the Domestic Violence Prevention and Control Law. These are important contributions to Viet Nam’s implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 30th anniversary of which we commemorate in 2025; and a critical platform to mark the start of Viet Nam’s tenure as member of the UN Women Executive Board. 

2025 will also mark the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that Viet Nam champions at the global and regional levels. We are by your side to continue investing in the next generation, to protect and prepare children and young people for the opportunities and challenges of today and tomorrow.

[Pause]

While considerable progress has been made, more needs to be done to reduce inequalities and ensure that no one is left behind to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Viet Nam’s 2nd Voluntary National Review identified priorities to accelerate SDG progress – all closely aligned with the Pact for the Future. This includes investing in human capital and digital transformation; strengthening public sector capacity and institutions; improving data; and mobilizing financing for the SDGs. We will redouble our efforts on these priorities in the remaining period of our cooperation framework.

Your Excellency,

Specifically on SDG financing, I take this opportunity to appreciate MPI’s leadership in addressing ODA challenges. Efforts to revise the Public Investment Law are underway, and a comprehensive amendment to the State Budget Law is planned. This may take considerable time as per the legislative process of Viet Nam. Therefore, may we request, Your Excellency, to consider proposing a National Assembly  Standing Committee resolution enabling a separate decree on ODA grants. ODA grants remain a valuable source of knowledge, and a catalyst to leverage financing for the SDGs. And our ability to fully deliver on our joint Cooperation Framework commitments rests on solutions to ODA grants challenges.

[Pause]

Investing in people, strengthening institutions, harnessing the power of data and digital technologies, protecting our planet --- will require leadership, resources and an enabling environment. 

We will continue providing Viet Nam with knowledge, innovation, and international standards in developing people-centred and climate-related national policies, strategies and action plans; enhancing institutional capacities; and generating data and evidence for informed policymaking.

In a similar way, we are contributing policy options for consideration of the 14th Party Congress. 

One such input draws from a joint UN-MPI macro-modeling study. It assessed the impact of green economy, poverty reduction, social protection and innovation-based growth policy scenarios on the economy, society and environment. The study also examined the fiscal space required for Viet Nam to achieve sustainable growth and net-zero targets. 

Your Excellency, 

Please allow me to invite interventions from the UN Country Team to elaborate on our results, issues faced and offers of support.

We highly value Your Excellency’s focus on people, on inclusive socio-economic development, and on environmental protection. 

We share the sense of urgency to ensure equitable, just and sustainable transitions -- including by combating poverty and exclusion and creating equitable access to services for all, especially the most vulnerable, including children, women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ.

We therefore encourage the Government to ensure meaningful participation of all groups in society to achieve the SDGs and address development challenges together. 

I close by quoting the UN Secretary General, who at the Summit of the Future said, [Quote] “we will not solve today’s global problems without contributions from all of society … from civil society, young people … from business … from scientists, innovators and academics … pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and developing solutions to the great challenges that we face.” [End quote]

This is our commitment to Viet Nam – together, we can!

Cảm ơn Ngài và chính phủ Việt Nam!