UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta has applauded the country’s achievements in gender equality.

Two out of the three criteria of the Millennium Development Goal on gender equality have been completed, the UNDP official said at a conference on women’s role in sustainable development and international integration in Hanoi on June 25.

Vietnam has considerably enhanced the rate of girls accessing primary and secondary education and the number of women delegates in the National Assembly (NA), Mehta said.

Vietnam is among the regional countries with the highest rate of women parliamentarians, she told participants at the event, which is part of a programme organised by the Foreign Ministry and UNDP to empower women in the public sector.

Addressing the gathering, NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stressed that the Party and State of Vietnam always take interest in the implementation of targets on gender equality.

Vietnam’s considerable achievements in the sector have been recognised by the international community, she added.

However, the official said it is necessary for Vietnam to further “innovate” the work on gender equality as well as lift the work to a new height that is suitable to the new international situation.

Also at the conference, Vice Foreign Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga said that in the country’s new stage of development, bringing into play women’s role, participation and contributions is not only a target but also an important solution for the implementation of targets on economic restructuring and sustainable development.

Challenges facing the work on gender equality were also discussed at the conference.
On the occasion, the Foreign Ministry and the UNDP signed stage II (2013 to 2016) of the aforementioned programme.-VNA