At the beginning, the leaders of the Government Office announced the Prime Minister's Decision to establish the National Council on Sustainable Development chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long, the Minister of Planning and Investment as Vice Chairman, with 30 members. Delegates also listened to the announcement of the Decision on the organization and operation regulations of the Council.
Many bright spots in SDGs implementation
At the meeting, Council members took a broad look at the current landscape for achieving the global SDGs, as the UN Secretary-General has warned and called on governments to step up action as progress towards the SDGs is likely to be difficult.
The members also discussed opportunities and actions of Vietnam in joining the international community to respond to global challenges; responding to and proactively implementing common commitments in the Future Compact recently approved by the UN General Assembly; the implementation of sustainable development goals in ministries and sectors and the expected program of activities of the Council in 2025.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment - the standing body of the Council, the latest report of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific stated that the progress of implementing the SDGs is uneven and not commensurate with the requirements set in the region. According to a recent report by the United Nations, with the current progress, it is expected that only 17% of the SDGs will be completed on time by 2030, 48% of the SDGs are behind schedule, 18% of the SDGs have made no progress and 17% of the SDGs are behind schedule compared to the 2025 milestone.
Although ODA reaches a high level in 2023, FDI to developing countries decreases by 7%; the financial gap for sustainable development is about 4,000 billion USD.
Vietnam is highly appreciated by the United Nations and other countries and international organizations for our efforts in implementing the SDGs, Deputy Minister Ngoc said. In terms of international comparison, according to the global ranking of the SDGs index announced in 2024, Vietnam scored 73.32 and ranked 54th out of 166 ranked countries. Vietnam's score and position have improved compared to the ranking announced in 2023. In the East and South Asia region, Vietnam is only behind Thailand, showing that the international community has a very positive assessment of Vietnam's achievements in implementing the SDGs.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented four national sectoral plans: Forestry planning; Planning for the fishing port system and storm shelters for fishing vessels; Planning for the protection and exploitation of aquatic resources; Planning for natural disaster prevention and irrigation. All four plans have integrated the SDGs.
Opinions from ministries and sectors also show efforts in issuing policy mechanisms to implement the SDGs. Basically, policies in sectors and fields have comprehensively integrated the SDGs, better integrating vulnerable groups such as the poor, ethnic minorities, children and women to ensure the spirit of "leaving no one behind" and at the same time aiming towards global goals and commitments on environmental protection, natural resources, biodiversity and climate change response.
However, the implementation of the SDGs still faces difficulties and challenges such as social policies that have not covered all target groups and implementation is not synchronous; the trend of urbanization and migration of people creates great pressure on infrastructure, environment and social security; rapid population aging puts great pressure on the social security system. The reality of economic growth still faces challenges such as low productivity, quality and competitiveness of the economy. Climate change, natural disasters, and floods are evolving complicatedly, greatly affecting people's lives and livelihoods...
Members discussed opportunities and actions of Vietnam in joining the international community to respond to global challenges - Photo: VGP/Duc Tuan
Continue to better implement plans and programs on sustainable development
Concluding the meeting, highly appreciating the comments, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long emphasized that Vietnam has seriously implemented the SDGs in the context of Vietnam's socio-economic situation.
We have basically issued all the documents to organize the implementation of sustainable development goals. Vietnam has many bright spots in implementing the SDGs, the Deputy Prime Minister specifically mentioned the significant progress recorded for SDG1 on ending poverty, SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 10 on reducing social inequality, SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions and SDG 17 on global partnership for SDGs. Vietnam's global ranking on the SDGs index announced in 2024 has improved compared to 2023.
Affirming that Vietnam has made great efforts in implementing the SDGs, the Deputy Prime Minister commended the Ministry of Planning and Investment, relevant ministries, branches and agencies in promulgating and implementing their action plans and programs to contribute to the overall results of the SDGs implementation nationwide.
Assessing the global and domestic context, the Deputy Prime Minister said that there are still many challenges to the progress and quality of the implementation of the SDGs, with the risk that many of the United Nations' SDGs will not be achieved. The developments in the world and the region are unpredictable. These challenges were raised by the United Nations at the recent high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, attended by General Secretary and President To Lam, who delivered an important speech.
Therefore, the United Nations has organized many conferences, proposed many solutions, including the adoption of the "Pact for the Future" within the framework of the High-level Week of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA on September 22. This treaty has further clarified the actions that countries need to take to complete the SDGs. This is an extremely important agreement with the expectation of creating a new step forward in implementing the SDGs.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries and sectors to continue to seriously and better implement the programs and plans issued by the Government and the Prime Minister. From the perspective of the sectors and fields under their management, ministries and sectors advise the Council on organizing the implementation of policies, strategies, mechanisms and policies on SDGs.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Ministry of Planning and Investment as well as other ministries and sectors should provide broader and more comprehensive advice and proposals on areas within the functions and tasks assigned to the Council, including inter-sectoral macro issues.
The Deputy Prime Minister agreed that in 2025, a mid-term review of the implementation of the National Action Plan to implement Vietnam's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be held, which will update the new situation in the context of the United Nations adopting the "Pact for the Future"; and at the same time, advise the Prime Minister on organizing a National Conference on Sustainable Development in 2025.
Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/tiep-tuc-thuc-hien-tot-hon-cac-muc-tieu-phat-trien-ben-vung-380645.html
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