Delegates at sessions of the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132) have agreed over the past few days on the necessity of improving the role and responsibility of parliaments in promoting the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The IPU-132 is currently being held in Hanoi under the theme “Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Action”.

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman and head of the Vietnamese delegation Tong Thi Phong agreed with the basic content of the 17 draft SDGs from the United Nations.

She suggested sustainable development be based on three pillars: ensuring economic growth, protected environment, social equality and progress; increasing the role of parliaments and parliamentarians through issuing, revising and supplementing legal documents relating to the SDGs implementation; and promoting the establishment of global partnerships through building trust and determination among parliaments.

She also noted peace and security are the prerequisite cornerstones for the effective development and implementation of the Post-2015 Agenda and SDGs.

Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Setya Novanto said his country, with two-thirds of its area covered with water, supports the inclusion of the content on water and maritime resource use in the SDGs. He asked parliaments to take the SDGs into consideration as they pass laws in their respective countries.

Meanwhile, Canadian parliamentarian S. Ataullahjan said the SDG agenda needs to focus on women and children, and the implementation of the 17 SDGs must be done under strict supervision by parliaments.

M.Di Bartolomeo from Luxembourg urged parliaments and parliamentarians to raise public awareness of sustainable development challenges. He highlighted countries’ mutual dependence in the current globalised world, adding the critical importance of working together to realise the SDGs.

He added almost all Luxembourg parliamentarians have agreed to use 1 percent of the country’s GDP as official development assistance through 2018 to join global efforts in alleviating poverty, generating jobs, ensuring access to medical services, and protecting human rights.

All countries should exert every effort to fulfil the SDGs, said M.Al Ghanim from Kuwait, adding that each nation should employ appropriate measures to implement these goals, based on each country’s specific development level.

The IPU-132, opened on March 28, will run through April 1.-VNA