Prime Minister Nguyen TanDung held separate working sessions with leaders of United Nations (UN)organisations on September 27 in New York on the sidelines of the UNGeneral Assembly.
During a meeting with UN Development Progamme(UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark, the PM spoke highly of the agency’skey role in promoting the implementation of the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs).
He said it has helped Vietnam reach itstargets by providing consultancy on macro-economic policy, sustainablesocio-economic development and institutional capacity enhancement,adding that it has also coordinated development partners to implementthe One-UN Initiative.
For her part, Clark hailed the country’spoverty reduction achievements, especially the implementation of theMDGs in Vietnam, expressing her wish that the country will jointly workwith the agency in building new goals in line with the situation after2015.
The UNDP has pledged to promote ongoing or upcoming projects in Vietnam with a total investment of 140 million USD, she added.
She said she will visit Vietnam in November to chair a meeting of heads of UNDP offices in Asia and the Pacific held in Hanoi.
Whilemeeting with Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, PM Dung praisedthe agency’s support to Vietnam, affirming that the nation wishes toincrease their cooperation further. He pledged that issues relating towomen and children will be a key part of Vietnam’s development agendaafter 2015.
The UNICEF official said his organisation willclosely work with Vietnam in health care, education and child care, aswell as support measures and consultation on building a long-termstrategy on child-related issues.
Later, the PM met the ExecutiveDirector of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) BabatundeOsotimehine and emphasised the country’s willingness to coordinate withUNFPA to promote its strategic priorities at UN forums, includingpreparations for a special session on population at the 69 th UNGeneral Assembly.
He praised UNFPA for its help in aiding poverty reduction and the implementation of MDGs in Vietnam.
Osotimehine affirmed that his organisation will continue to supportVietnam in the fields of population control, family planning andreproductive health while implementing the 2014-17 UNFPA StrategicPlan.-VNA

☀️ Morning digest on April 21
The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.