Press Release

From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals: Building on Viet Nam’s Success for the Post-2015 Development Agenda

17 April 2015

Ha Noi 17 April 2015 – The future direction of the global post 2105 development agenda and its implications for Viet Nam were discussed today at a high level seminar with the Prime Minister of Norway - H.E. Ms. Erna Solberg and the Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam - H.E. Mr. Vu Duc Dam.

2015 is an important year for setting the future global development agenda and its financing. It marks the completion of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) framework, which for the past 15 years has unified countries around the world in closing the most pressing development gaps and deprivations.

Ensuring a smooth transition from the MDGs to the new Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs to be adopted at the General Assembly in September is a high priority for the UN and its member states. 2015 also marks other key international events which will shape the post 2015 development agenda: the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, which just concluded, followed by the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July and the Conference of Parties 21 in Paris in December.

Visiting Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg currently serves as a Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level MDG Advocacy Group established in 2010. One of the key reasons for her visit to Viet Nam is to advocate for continued efforts to achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals and to discuss those that will replace them after 2015 – the new Sustainable Development Goals.

Following Rio+20 and building on the lessons learnt from the MDGs, member states have been deliberating for well over a year on the post-2015 agenda. The process included an unprecedented level of consultations with multiple stakeholders.

Seventeen ambitious new SDGs are proposed, from eradicating hunger and poverty, to achieving equitable and sustained growth and development, to protecting the environment and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies. In addition to strong Government leadership, much broader and more inclusive partnerships with civil society and the private sector will be needed for Viet Nam and other countries to achieve the SDGs. Implementing the SDGs will require significant financing. Today’s event discussed different financing options for middle income countries like Viet Nam.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the United Nations in Viet Nam to highlight the significance of continued progress on the MDGs as foundation for the post-2015 development framework and the need to ensure sustained financing of the SDG agenda.

Also present at the event were the UN Assistant Secretary-General Mr. Thomas Gass (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN Headquarters in New York) and two MDG Advocates serving on the above MDG Advocacy Group, Ambassador Dho Young-shim from the Republic of Korea, Chairperson of the UN World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation, and Ms Stine Bosse (Denmark), Board member of Allianz Group and Vice Chairman of Child Fund Alliance.

The three hour seminar gathered senior government officials, National Assembly representatives, civil society and mass organizations, private sector representatives, diplomatic community, multilateral organizations and both national and international NGOs.

Earlier in the day, a signing ceremony took place between the UN Resident Coordinator Ms Pratibha Mehta and Ambassador of Norway Siren Gjerme Eriksen, for an additional contribution of 10 Million Norwegian Krone (US$1.28 million) to the UN One Plan Fund II. This brings the total amount of support from Norway to the UN in Viet Nam to support to over 104 million NOK (US$ 13.4 million) over the past 7 years.

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