An overview of the meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the United Nations (UN) are stepping up efforts to build a new cooperation framework for the 2027–31 period to support the country’s long-term development goals.

The information was announced at the 2026 annual meeting of the Vietnamese Government – United Nations Joint Steering Committee, recently held at the Ministry of Finance headquarters and co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Finance Trần Quốc Phương and Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Việt Nam Silvia Danailov.

At the meeting, Phương said Việt Nam is entering a new stage of development with numerous long-term strategic goals, and emphasised that cooperation between Việt Nam and the UN needs fresh ideas in both content and execution.

For her part, Danailov praised the partnership between the Vietnamese Government and the UN, an important foundation for advancing Việt Nam's national development priorities and the current cooperation framework.

According to Danailov, the joint steering committee's meeting is timely as Việt Nam pursues development driven by innovation, green growth, and digital transformation, while the world continues to face mounting climate, geopolitical, and development financing challenges.

She noted that the process of drafting the new Việt Nam-UN cooperation framework has achieved significant milestones since it began in August last year, with the active participation of Vietnamese ministries and agencies helping shape strategic priorities for the next phase.

The UN looks forward to contributions from the Vietnamese Government to finalise the new cooperation framework in a way that generates stronger impacts, increases added value, and builds a solid partnership to support Việt Nam's development goals, Danailov said.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đặng Hoàng Giang affirmed that Việt Nam highly values the UN’s support and partnership throughout the country’s socio-economic development process over the years.

In the new development period, relations between Việt Nam and the UN should be elevated in a more substantive, reciprocal direction, he said, adding that Việt Nam wishes to continue receiving support from the UN and contribute to the organisation and the international community in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to Giang, the new cooperation framework should both support Việt Nam in achieving national development targets and create conditions for the country to share its development experience with other nations.

He also noted the significance of the period, as 2027 will mark the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam's accession to the United Nations.

At the meeting, UN representatives updated participants on the implementation results of the 2022–26 cooperation framework and presented priority orientations for the next phase. Key areas include inclusive development, economic transformation toward shared prosperity, strengthening public governance, improving access to justice, and promoting the rule of law.

Representatives from organisations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, and WHO also reaffirmed their commitments to cooperation with Việt Nam in the coming years.

Phương praised the efforts of both the UN drafting team and Vietnamese agencies in completing the evaluation report for the 2022–26 framework and the draft framework for 2027–31.

He stressed that resource mobilisation will remain a major challenge in the next phase, making it essential to select programmes and projects that generate substantial impacts and align closely with Việt Nam's development priorities.

Phương also called for the new cooperation framework to integrate the review of SDG implementation by 2030, describing it as an important milestone reflecting the achievements of Việt Nam-UN cooperation over many years. — VNA/VNS