Honorable Committee Chairpersons, Members of the National Assembly and government representatives,

Esteemed Secretary General of the IPU, Mr. Martin Chungong and UNESCAP Executive Secretary, Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana – both joining us online,

Ladies and gentlemen.

It is my great honour to welcome you all to this hybrid event dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals and the role of the members of the National Assembly in promoting and overseeing their implementation. I would like to congratulate Mr. Hai Ha Vu, Chairman of the NA Foreign Affairs Committee on his initiative and commitment, and to thank our IPU and UNESCAP colleagues for an excellent collaboration and partnership.

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development almost seven years ago, the most ambitious vision for humanity has been laid out. A vision that aims to end poverty, build peaceful societies and promote prosperity and people’s well-being, while protecting the planet for present and future generations.

The SDGs provide a blueprint for profound, transformational and urgently needed reforms to restore the health of our planet and build a more just world. With concrete, actionable targets, the SDGs aim to end poverty and hunger, expand access to health, education, justice and jobs, while protecting our planet from environmental degradation and the devastating effects of climate change.

Members of Parliament contributed to shaping the SDGs and, as the 2030 Agenda Declaration acknowledges, they have an “essential role” in “ensuring accountability for the effective implementation of commitments”.

Viet Nam’s 2030 Agenda is closely linked to the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan and 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy set out by the Government. This demonstrates the commitment from Viet Nam to achieve the SDGs.

I have been pleased to observe Viet Nam’s strong commitment to translating the SDGs into actions. This is captured in the government’s SDG task force and action plans, as well as in the participation today of high-level leaders from government ministries. We are also pleased to see that the 17 SDGs are incorporated into the Viet Nam SDGs in its National Action Plan for Implementation of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

The UN agencies (WHO, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNWOMEN and UNICEF) were privileged to provide comments to the 2021 National SDG Report led by MPI. The report was comprehensive with rich and up-to-date data. This really demonstrates the national ownership in implementing and monitoring the SDGs.

SDG progress from our UN perspectives

Viet Nam’s ranking has been on the rise over the last 5 years. Last year, the country ranked 51/165 countries on performance in SDG implementation. Out of the 17 Goals, 5 are on track to be achieved by 2030. These include #1 Poverty, #4 Education, #6 Clean Water & Sanitation, #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, and #7 Affordable and Clean Energy. We are pleased to see this progress, which demonstrates Viet Nam’s commitment in energy transition as committed at COP 26. While some goals are on track to achieve the SDGs, we also notice stagnation or slow progress in other goals, including #13 Climate Action, #14 Life Below Water, and #15 Life on Land. The next few years will be crucial for Viet Nam in maintaining the momentum for well performing goals and pushing forward the slower goals. 

Covid recovery

Viet Nam’s efforts to accelerate achievement of SDGs by 2030 has undoubtedly come under threat by the impact of the COVID-19. As we look forward to the economy re-opening, we must focus on ensuring that rebound is sustainable and inclusive, leaving no one behind. Viet Nam’s rebound and recovery is facing many challenges. These include: i) a climate crisis; ii) rising fuel prices; iii) supply chain disruption due to prolonged lockdowns; iv) and the knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine. Therefore, it is of utmost important that recovery policies are made with these challenges in mind, while aiming for a long-term sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy.

According to the SDG report in Asia and the Pacific authored jointly and launched by UNDP-UNESCAP-ADB last week, no country is on track to achieving the SDGs by 2030. Rebounding from the stagnation (or in some cases regression) caused by the pandemic requires strong political will to chart a long-term transformative path towards building sustainable and resilient economies and societies, and to make the recovery and SDGs’ achievement inclusive. National recovery strategies must be even more closely aligned with the 2030 Agenda, and governments must mobilize significantly greater financial resources to attain the SDGs.  Recovery from the pandemic must follow a greener and more inclusive trajectory, and the digital divide must be closed so new economic potential can be ignited. Moreover, models of governance that are more anticipatory and agile are needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Equally important, governments must mobilize significantly greater financial resources to attain the SDGs. 

The UN is supporting Viet Nam in improving the allocation of financial resources, and mobilization of additional public and private resources, in the best way for delivering the development outcomes they are committed to. We look forward to better outcome-based budgeting processes, linking to development outcomes, including more efficient use of public investment resources. There is a further need to hold provinces accountable for achieving development goals, avoiding duplication, through monitoring and evaluation.  

Again, mobilizing financial resources will be critical for the successful implementation of SDGs, and parliaments can play a key role in ensuring that sustainable development priorities are reflected in national, sub-national and local budgets. Ensuring adequate funding for SDG achievement is an important and complex challenge that will require heightened attention moving forward.

Parliaments and parliamentarians also play an important role in the achievement of SDGs in Viet Nam. SDG 16’s targets demonstrate that effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions such as parliaments are crucial for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. 

Parliamentary engagement in the 2030 Agenda can result in a major boost to achieving the SDGs, including the creation of an open and transparent mechanism for countries to track their SDG progress, as well as an increased profile for the SDGs at the national, regional and global levels. Parliamentary engagement in the 2030 Agenda also allows for national policy discussions in a formal political setting that can also include the private sector, CSOs and other stakeholders.

Finally, the SDGs will not succeed without strong political will. MPs in national leadership positions not only have the mandate to carry out their duties in parliament, but also to influence other key decision makers and partners to actively champion the SDGs. Your voice and authority can help to ensure that the SDGs’ promise of leaving no one behind becomes a reality in Viet Nam.

Mr. Vice-President, distinguished members of the National Assembly, UNDP has traditionally been a key partner of the National Assembly in its efforts to promote and oversee SDG implementation. For example, UNDP Viet Nam helped made available in Vietnamese two important resources that UNDP produced in collaboration with IPU and other partners, namely the “Parliaments and the Sustainable Development Goals: A self-assessment toolkit” (developed jointly with IPU) and the “Parliamentary Handbook: Parliament’s Role in implementing the SDGs” -- the latter featuring country examples of how parliaments and parliamentarians can fulfill their SDG roles. My predecessor, Mr. Kamal Malhotra had launched the self-assessment toolkit with Mme Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in December 2017 on behalf of the UN.

We at the UN and UNDP look forward to engaging with the National Assembly in future SDG activities and renew our commitment of support. This includes specifically, a most useful self-assessment exercise guided by the Self-Assessment Toolkit -- which UNDP will be delighted to support in partnership with our IPU friends, sharing experiences from other countries on what parliaments could do to become fit for purpose to deliver their roles vis-a-vis the SDGs.

Thank you, again for your commitment, and I trust that the National Assembly as an institution and each of you will make important contributions to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals to ensure a green inclusive future for all Vietnamese people where no one is left behind.

Thank you. Xin Cam on.