Workshop discusses role of parliament in delivering development goals ahead of IPU-132

The Vietnamese National Assembly delegation to the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU-132) gathered at a workshop in Hanoi on March 17 to discuss the role of parliament in implementing sustainable development goals after 2015 proposed by the United Nations.

United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in Vietnam, Pratibha Mehta, speaking at the workshop

The workshop entitled 'From 2000-2015 Millennium Development Goals to post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: Role of Parliaments' aimed to discuss and clarify related issues to provide reference information for the Vietnamese NA delegation to the IPU-132 scheduled to take place in Hanoi for the first time on March 28.

The workshop was jointly held by the Institute for Legislative Research under the National Assembly Standing Committee, IPU-132 Organising Board and the United Nations in Vietnam, bringing together Vietnamese legislators, representatives of ministries and sectors along with international experts and organisations.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Politburo member and Vice NA Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, said that this important workshop is part of activities to prepare for the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation to attend the upcoming IPU-132 themed 'Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Actions'.

NA Vice Chairman Phong, who is also head of the IPU-132 Organising Board, said that despite many difficulties and challenges, Vietnam has been a responsible member of the UN in implementing eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and has achieved significant results, particularly in poverty reduction, gender equality and education. Vietnam met the goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger in 2002 and universal primary education in 2010.

She noted that 2015 is the last year to complete the eight MDGs and is a transitional year to build and implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN.

"This workshop will focus on clarifying the role of the NA in proposing policies and procedures to form and implement SDGs as well as measures for the NA to perform its role of overseeing important issues of the country so that Vietnam can accomplish MDGs, build and implement SDGs once adopted and recommend related contents to the IPU-132", she added.

United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta praised Vietnam for taking the lead in implementing many MDGs, saying that "Questions of inclusion and sustainability lie at the heart of SDG agenda. These themes are particularly relevant to Vietnam and other middle-income countries".

She said that the implementation of SDGs requires the General Assembly at a global level and parliaments at a national level to have a far stronger governance approach. She appealed to parliaments to actively participate in the process of strategic level policy-constructing and promote the partnership between ministries, sectors, localities as well as civil society and the private sector.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)