HÀ NỘI — Economic growth must go hand in hand with environmental protection and prioritise the needs of disadvantaged groups, said Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam.

Sustainable development is a common mission for different sectors in the country that requires clear responsibility assignments, close collaboration and transparency, he said at a conference on launching a National Action Plan (NAP) to implement the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Hà Nội yesterday.

The NAP was promulgated by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on May 10, 2017, specifying 17 sustainable development goals with 115 targets relevant to Việt Nam until 2030, corresponding to global sustainable development goals adopted at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015.

It stresses the importance of involving the public in hitting Việt Nam’s sustainable development targets, including the Government, bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, as well as the foreign and local political, professional and mass organisations and other groups.

The NAP is a legal foundation on which Việt Nam will actualise its international commitment towards sustainable development.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thế Phương said that achieving the sustainable development targets would help Việt Nam take a big leap in reducing poverty, ensuring social security, protecting the environment and responding to climate change.

“The country will focus on perfecting institutions and policies, increasing public awareness of sustainable development, enhancing high-quality human resources development, and mobilising internal and external financial sources in order to reach those targets,” he added.

“The targets will be integrated into the country’s policies, and the action plans of ministries, sectors and localities nationwide,” he said.

Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator in Việt Nam said that the NAP was an important milestone for the country, which would “help to assert its pioneering role in maintaining international commitments to sustainable development.” — VNS