Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has expressed his confidence that the country will achieve most of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations prior to 2030.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the conference. Source: Quang Hieu/VGP.
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Vietnam achieved significant improvements in poverty reduction, thanks to high economic growth and effective distribution policy, said the PM at the National Conference on Sustainable Development 2018 on July 5.
"As of the end of 2017, Vietnam's multi-dimensional poverty rate was reduced to 7%, while the average life expectancy increased to 73.5 years, among the highest in the world," Phuc added.
Moreover, Vietnam ranked fifth in the Happy Planet Index (HPI) and second in the Asia Pacific region.
Environmental protection is also one of Vietnam's priorities, along with socio-economic development, according to Phuc. In recent years, the government has stepped up efforts in tackling serious environmental breakdowns, while making endeavor to restructure the economy towards environmentally friendly one.
The PM also affirmed Viet Nam's consistent policy of pursuing growth and environmental protection, with the aim of achieving high requirements towards sustainable development.
"We are confident to achieve or even complete most of the United Nations' sustainable development goals prior to 2030," he said.
Additionally, sustainable development is the responsibility of the entire political system, society and each individual, Phuc stressed.
Reform and innovations key for sustainable development
The PM pointed out that reform and innovations are vital factors for sustainable development, affirming the government will create favorable conditions for citizens to boost innovations and provide measures to protect property rights and innovative ideas.
"Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum expressed his concern over the lack of preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution from a majority part of the world," he continued.
"I ask myself, are we ready for the new industrial revolution? Which measures and solutions have been prepared? Many experts have warned about the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution, including major structural changes in the labor market, growing inequality, cyberwarfare, privacy violation, among others," Phuc said.
Stressing the importance of education as the key for all people, especially the youth to grasp knowledge, Phuc said the government commits to ensuring learning opportunities for all.
The road ahead requires comprehensive solutions to improve productivity, competitiveness, quality of workforce as well as capacity to access the fourth industrial revolution, he concluded.
