Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà meets Regional Director of UNICEF's Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) Sanjay Wijesekera in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà met Regional Director of UNICEF's Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) Sanjay Wijesekera in Hà Nội on Monday, affirming that Việt Nam is committed to being an active member of global efforts for children, and expressing her confidence that the trusted and effective partnership between Việt Nam and UNICEF will continue to flourish.

Congratulating Wijesekera on his new appointment, Trà highlighted the historic achievements of five decades of cooperation between Việt Nam and UNICEF, describing the partnership as one built on close coordination, mutual trust and effective collaboration in protecting, caring for, educating and promoting the development of children.

She stressed that child protection, care and education have always been identified by the Party and State as an especially important strategic priority as children represent the future of the nation. Investment in children is investment in the future and a cornerstone for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Deputy PM highlighted Việt Nam’s recent achievements, including completing universal lower-secondary education and working towards universal upper-secondary education; reducing child malnutrition to its lowest level; continuously improving policies and institutions; and substantially narrowing development gaps among regions and disparities affecting vulnerable children, particularly those in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

For his part, Wijesekera said Việt Nam is the first country he has chosen to visit after taking up his new post. He praised Việt Nam for being the first Asian country to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990, as well as for its strong political commitment and sustained, prudent investment in children over the past decades.

These long-term efforts have delivered remarkable progress in reducing child mortality and improving nutrition, healthcare, education and child protection, he said, adding that Việt Nam’s experience offered valuable lessons for other countries in the region.

Wijesekera said UNICEF and its Vietnamese partners have been working to develop a new Country Programme, affirming UNICEF’s strong commitment to supporting the programme and Việt Nam’s development vision on the basis of the solid foundation established through their longstanding partnership.

He outlined several priority areas for future cooperation, including expanding livelihood, employment and skills-development opportunities for young people after leaving the education system; jointly addressing climate change; improving the effectiveness of public financial management for investment in children while ensuring such investment does not create a public debt burden; and, particularly, strengthening cooperation in digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve development outcomes and protect children online from cyber threats.

Acknowledging UNICEF’s strategic recommendations, Trà noted that despite its major achievements, Việt Nam still faces several challenges. The country has nearly 25 million children, with ethnic minority children accounting for 18.3 per cent, while 8.4 per cent of children live in multidimensional poverty and about 2.3 per cent are in special circumstances.

To ensure fair, balanced and inclusive development opportunities for all children, Việt Nam will review and assess the implementation of Party resolutions on social policies closely related to children, she said.

As Việt Nam and UNICEF work towards adopting their 2027-2031 Country Programme, the Deputy PM proposed that the two sides focus on three strategic priorities.

First, on sharing experience and improving institutions and policies, she called on UNICEF to continue drawing on its global expertise to support Việt Nam in strengthening its legal and institutional framework for children. New policies should provide multi-layered, flexible, comprehensive and inclusive support, shifting from a primarily assistance-based approach towards proactive investment in the younger generation to develop high-quality human resources and a sustainable society.

Second, on addressing technological challenges and protecting children online, she urged both sides to proactively harness opportunities offered by the digital era and AI to support children’s education and health, while preventing risks and minimising negative impacts on their mental health, nutrition and cognitive development arising from harmful online content and activities.

Third, on strengthening development and child governance capacity, Trà stressed the need to consolidate, strengthen and improve the skills of officials working on child-related issues from the central to provincial and commune levels following the restructuring of the administrative apparatus. She also called for a comprehensive and integrated child data system to support more effective management. — VNA/VNS