Towards “Plan to save people and the planet”

Rana Flowers, acting resident coordinator of the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam, stated that the SDG Summit marks the halfway point of implementing the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference provides an opportunity for world leaders to evaluate progress in implementing these goals, reflect on which goals are on track, and identify those goals that have not made expected progress.

According to Rana Flowers, this is a crucial moment in the world’s development process, when countries, responding to the call of the UN Secretary-General, commit to accelerating and achieving breakthroughs to ensure a stronger planet by the end of this decade.

“With the right political will, we can accomplish a lot in the next seven years,” said Rana Flowers.

Alongside other leaders, Vietnam will make strong commitments to address areas in need of government funding, areas with limited data, actions to protect biodiversity, actions to mitigate the climate crisis, and identification of vulnerable groups at risk of being left behind.

Strong action attracts more resources

According to the Acting UN Resident Coordinator, Vietnam’s commitments and actions in the upcoming SDG report are important.

As one of the countries making good progress on the 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 integrated economies, Vietnam can effectively use its voice to contribute ideas and promote investment and innovation to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.

“I believe that Vietnam will show its strong progress at this Summit, as well as reflect areas where Vietnam has not made as much progress as expected,” said the Acting UN Resident Coordinator.

Building a roadmap to fill the gap

Rana Flowers assessed that Vietnam has achieved significant progress in sustainable development goals and targets.

For example, Vietnam has made great progress in goals related to hunger eradication and poverty reduction, the right to access clean water and sanitation, industrial and infrastructure development, as well as access to information technology and the Internet.

However, according to 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, and renewable energy sharing.

Although Vietnam may achieve some of its goals at the national level by 2030, Rana Flowers believes that there are still disparities between regions and vulnerable groups (such as ethnic minorities, laborers, immigrants, people with disabilities, adolescents, the elderly, and other groups) are still at risk of being left behind.

“Developing an SDG financing strategy will be key to this. While mobilizing additional climate and green finance is a priority, freeing up existing resources, including official development assistance (ODA), and improving the efficiency of domestic resource use, are equally important,” Rana Flowers said.

Remarkable contributions

The Acting UN Resident Coordinator appreciates Vietnam as a dynamic, developed, and valuable member country of the UN for the past 45 years.

Vietnam officially joined the UN in September 1977, two years after the war ended in 1975.

Over the past 45 years, Vietnam has transformed from a country that only received UN support into a country with increasing capacity, making strong contributions to regional and global agendas.

Vietnam is a responsible member of multilateral processes. Today, Vietnam plays an important role in the region and the world in preserving peace, serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term and holding the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.

“The United Nations welcomes Vietnam’s commitments to strengthening human rights in all fields. The UN encourages Vietnam to prioritize gender equality, ensure an open mechanism for the government to listen to the voice of the people, and prioritize women’s and children’s rights. Vietnam also continues to improve the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, in accordance with international standards and practices, leaving no one behind,” said Rana Flowers.