Strengthening Vietnam – UNDP cooperation

On August 31st 2016, at the headquarters of the MPI, Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong had a meeting with Mr. Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) visiting and working in Vietnam.

  Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong and Mr. Haoliang Xu at the meeting. Photo: Duc Trung (MPI)

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Haoliang Xu thanked Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong for the reception and highly appreciated socio-economic development achievements of Vietnam, especially outcomes of implementing MDGs. He also affirmed the important role of the MPI in making policy and relationship with organizations of the United Nations in general and UNDP in particular. Besides, he outlined some challenges Vietnam facing, such as: middle income trap, multidimensional poverty, impact of climate change and natural disasters.

In cooperative strategy with developing countries as Vietnam, Mr. Haoliang Xu said that UNDP will change cooperation with Vietnam from donor to development partners with macro policy advice. The United Nations and UNDP will continue supporting for Vietnam’s development on policy, experiences, improving quality of human resource, especially innovation.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong recognized and highly appreciated positive and effective contributions of UNDP for nearly 40 years and hoped that UNDP would continue being a trusted and dear partner of Vietnam in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also recognized efforts of UNDP for meeting requirements of Vietnam to overcome natural disasters, drought, saline intrusion. National execution modalities of UNDP have worked well, supported partners, including Vietnam to improve competitiveness comprehensively, meet demand of cooperation and development, integration against new context. Besides, UNDP has been actively looking for other resources for Vietnam.

Vietnam desired UNDP to continue supporting in some advantage fields of UNDP such as formulating institutions, policy advice, high-skilled human resource, completing action plans for National Strategy on Green Growth, National Strategy on Climate Change, supporting poverty reduction, social welfares, Vietnam’s statistical system… Thereby, the two sides believed to continue strengthening exchange and cooperation based on good bilateral relations in order to become a strategic partnership, contributing to socio-economic development of Vietnam./.

Nguyen Huong
Ministry of Planning and Investment