Ambassador Đỗ Hùng Việt, permanent representative of Việt Nam to the United Nations addresses the annual session of the UN Women Executive Board in New York. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tuấn

NEW YORK — The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has made practical achievements despite a challenging international environment, said Ambassador Đỗ Hùng Việt, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the UN, while addressing to the annual session of the UN Women Executive Board in New York.

The Vietnamese diplomat also expressed his appreciation for UN Women’s support for Việt Nam and its activities in the country. 

Held from June 23–25, the session reviewed and discussed the organisation’s annual report, assessed implementation of the 2022–25 strategic plan, and marked the beginning of the rollout of UN Women’s 2026–29 strategic plan.

In his remarks, Việt stressed that implementation of the new strategic plan should remain country-led, aligned with national priorities, and ensure that UN Women’s support is practical, relevant, and responsive to local needs.

The ambassador also called on UN Women to continue prioritising areas capable of generating long-term impact, including women’s economic empowerment and strengthening the group’s leadership and participation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) governance and digital transformation.

Addressing ongoing UN reform efforts, Việt emphasised that reform proposals should be evidence-based and aimed at advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in a stronger, more effective, and adequately resourced manner.

He further encouraged the Executive Board and UN Women to examine lessons learned from existing initiatives, including the implementation of the Delivering as One initiative in Việt Nam, with a view to enhancing the role, coherence, and effectiveness of the UN system at the country level.

Opening the session, Sima Sami Bahous, executive director of UN Women, noted that gender equality continues to face mounting challenges, including conflict, humanitarian crises, and resource constraints.  

During the 2022–25 period, UN Women mobilised support amounting to nearly US$2.35 billion across 135 countries and assisted 78 countries in developing legislation and policy frameworks.

She called on member states to continue ensuring adequate resources for UN Women, describing investment in gender equality and women’s empowerment as a key driver for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

During discussions, participating countries acknowledged the role and contributions of UN Women, underscoring the need to ensure stable, flexible, and sustainable funding for the agency. Delegates also called for reform efforts under the UN80 initiative to be implemented transparently and in a way that does not weaken UN Women’s mandate or core functions. — VNA/VNS