International delegates praise host country Vietnam in successfully organising the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+) Hanoi (VNA) - The ninth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians wrapped up in Hanoi on September 16 with outcomes of the conference surpassing expectations.
The conference adopted a statement on the role of the youth in promoting the implementation of sustainable development goals through digital transformation and innovation. It is the first statement so far, featuring the young people's commitment to implementing the millennium development goals set by the United Nations.
In the statement, young parliamentarians expressed their concern as with less than seven years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 12% of the SDGs are meeting the targets and over 50% of them still lagging behind.
In his closing remarks, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue affirmed that the success of the ninth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians shows that the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians is a very necessary and useful one for young parliamentarians. He emphasised the importance of young parliamentarians in particular and young people in general as the future owners of each country, nation and the whole world in participating in the realisation of the goals and tasks of the IPU and the United Nations.
He also called on the IPU and its member parliaments to actively implement the conference statement and establish appropriate mechanisms to cooperate with and support each other, especially between developed and developing countries in digital transformation and innovation.
IPU President Duarte Pacheco thanked the National Assembly of Vietnam for hosting this conference, and expressed his gratitude to all the guests, panelists, and speakers who contributed to this conference.
IPU President Duarte Pacheco (Photo: Vietnam+) Emphasising that after the conference, there is more work to be done, the IPU President said he believes in the even more active engagement of young parliamentarians in the IPU and its agenda, as young people have much potential, knowledge and strong commitment to promoting sustainable development for all. The participation of young parliamentarians will increase in the future.
He shared his concern about the limited results of the SDGs realisation, with only 12% of the targets met, while 15 experiencing heavy delays. In the next seven years, there are a lot to do to ensure sustainable development for humanity.
Accordingly, the IPU President suggested engaging youth in in politics and digital technologies to accelerate progress, adapt budgets to scale up support for youth led startups and enterprises, and promote science and innovation for sustainable development and enhance digital literacy for young people.
“The conference statement presented earlier provides more concrete actions that you can take home with you. It is an important guide on how to act for the SDGs. The continuation of this journey now rests in our capable hands,” he stressed.
Foreign delegates learn about the culture of Vietnam at the event. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+) He also pledged that the IPU is ready to support young parliamentarians in implementing their commitments at this Conference. "We cannot delay any longer. Let's try to work hard together to implement what we have committed and what we must do. We have the right to be proud of our work,” he said.
Meanwhile, Martin Chungong, Secretary General of Inter-Parliamentary Union stressed that the outcomes of the conference have surpassed expectations and it’s a continuation of success of the IPU- 132 in Hanoi in 2015./.
