Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung, elected President of the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132), has called on parliaments across the globe to make strong commitment to effectively implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) over the next 15 years.
While presiding over the first plenary session of the IPU Governing Council in Hanoi on March 29, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung suggested delegates focus their discussions on the role and missions of the parliaments to turn words into action for realising the SDGs.
Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnamese NA and head of the Vietnamese delegation Tong Thi Phong reviewed the implementation of the eight millennium development goals (MDGs), emphasising that some of the poverty and inequality targets have yet to be fully addressed.
The existing gap requires continuous efforts by and cooperation between nations, international organisations and individuals globally for sustainable development, she said.
 |
| Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung presiding over the first plenary session of the IPU Governing Council in Hanoi on March 29. |
She highlighted Vietnam’s fierce determination to overcome difficulties and challenges to reach significant achievements in the field, attributing the results to the country’s strong commitment together with close and flexible collaboration with international development partners.
The Vietnamese National Assembly has exerted tireless efforts to build policies, national targets, and basic legal frameworks while strengthening its role as the supreme supervisor of implementing the eight MDGs, she noted.
Vietnam welcomes the IPU’s support of its members to boost cooperation and share experience in implementing the post-2015 SDGs, she said.
She suggested sustainable development ought to be based on three pillars, economic growth, protective and equal environment, and social progress.
Vietnam agreed with the basic contents of the 17 draft SDGs from the UN, she said.
The lawmaker also recommended increasing the role of the parliament and parliamentarians via promulgating, amending and supplementing legal documents relevant to SDG implementation, as well as in making decisions on socio-economic development agenda and the national budget to realise the SDGs.
She suggested enhancing effective cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations, promoting the role played by regional economic cooperative mechanisms and international trade and finance institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organisation in building and implementing the SDGs.
At the same time, she underlined peace and security as the prerequisite and solid foundation for effectively building and implementing the post-2015 development agenda and SDGs.
She pointed to resolving current conflicts and preventing imminent threats of conflict as the urgent and long-term task and responsibility of all nations.
Amina Mohammed, a representative from the UN Secretary General, highlighted the IPU-132 as a special occasion in the final stage of the negotiations to define the SDGs, which will be adopted in September 2015.
She stressed the increasingly important role of parliaments in the next 15 years to realise these targets.
IPU President Saber Chowhury lauded Amina Mohammed’s ideas on engaging the IPU in UN affairs, including sustainable development goals, relations between the IPU and the UN, and the IPU’s expectations on global common issues.
The President said he hopes the discussion will contribute to issuing the IPU statement in Hanoi.
The 132nd Assembly of the IPU opened on March 28 in Hanoi and will last through April 1.
Source: VNA