Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan suggested empowering women and girls in science, technology, and digital transformation while addressing the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York on March 11 (local time), VNA reported.

The work should go in tandem with the fight against discrimination and violence in cyberspace, she said, stressing the need to promote women’s role in building an international environment of peace, stability, and inclusive and sustainable development, and handling non-traditional challenges, especially climate change.

Women should be given opportunities to maximize their capability in economic, political, and social activities, and further engage in decision-making mechanisms in these fields, especially economy, Xuan continued.

Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan speaks at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Photo: VNA

The Vice President called on UN countries to work together to enhance partnerships for sustainable development and provide financial support and policy consultations for developing nations.

She used the occasion to brief the participants on Vietnam’s achievements in ensuring gender equality, elaborating that female National Assembly deputies make up 30.3% of the total seats; and female labor force participation, 70%.

In January, Vietnam issued a national action program on women, peace, and security for 2024-2030, Xuan said, affirming that the country stands ready to closely cooperate with others and partners for gender equality, and women’s and girls’ empowerment, ensuring that no one is left behind.

At the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Photo: VNA The 68th session of the CSW, a functional commission of the ECOSOC, takes place from March 11-22 in a hybrid format with virtual and in-person parallel events, themed “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.” Attending the meeting were the President of Switzerland, the Prime Minister of Latvia, the Vice Presidents of Iran and Guatemala, the Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini, more than 100 Ministers, and more than 15,000 delegates from UN member countries and non-governmental organizations. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the meeting.

On the same day, Vice President Xuan met with Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner, during which she hailed the leadership role of the UNDP within the UN development system, particularly in advancing the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

She thanked the organization for its continuous support to and partnership with Vietnam in the country's reconstruction, development, and national-building efforts over the past nearly 50 years, with total assistance nearing USD 1 billion.

Xuan spoke of Vietnam's efforts in implementing the Socio-economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period, and the Socio-economic Development Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period, including maintaining macro-economic stability, addressing climate change and natural disasters, transitioning growth models towards green, sustainable and inclusive development, as well as advancements in the Human Development Index (HDI) and gender equality.

Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner. Photo: VNA

She appreciated UNDP's cooperation in implementing the Vietnam-UNDP Cooperation Programme for the 2022-2026 period, as well as in the draft outline of the Resource Mobilization Plan for implementing the Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

The leader suggested the UNDP continue financial and policy assistance for Vietnam, help the country improve its capacity to implement the aforementioned priority policies, support the socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta region, and mobilize adequate resources from development partners to ensure the implementation of these tasks.

For his part, Steiner congratulated Vietnam on its great achievements thus far, describing them as a source of encouragement and substantial contribution to implementing the UN’s priorities.

He said Vietnam and the UNDP share common priorities regarding green and digital transformation, affirming that the international organization stands ready to support Vietnam in achieving its commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and in implementing the JETP, accelerating decarbonization processes and ensuring affordable access to clean energy. It will act as a bridge between Vietnam and international donors, as well as among the Mekong River basin countries, to support Vietnam in meeting its set objectives.

The two sides agreed to maintain close collaboration to enable Vietnam to make more significant contributions to UNDP's global efforts in promoting sustainable development.

Vietnam's Vice State President also had bilateral meetings with Swiss President Viola Amherd and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, and received New York City Mayor Eric Adams, on March 11.

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