The 65 th session of the United Nations General Assembly on November 23 convened a plenary session on the adoption of the draft resolution on sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth for poverty eradication and achievement of the MDGs that was initiated by ten ASEAN member countries in co-ordination with Japan , the Republic of Korea and China.

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Permanent Representative of Vietnam on behalf of the initial sponsors, underlined the achievement of the MDGs while promoting regional integration and narrowing the development gap.

The initial sponsors have provided constructive inputs, based on regional experiences, to the United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs with a view to accelerating progress of the MDGs, especially through strengthened global partnership, the diplomat said.

While recognizing the diversities within and among countries, including in how to achieve the MDGs, the initial sponsors are common in the view that economic growth should be given higher priority in the discussion on MDGs, the ambassador said.

At the same time, the 13 nations are placing greater emphasis on the kind of growth that enables everyone to benefit equally from economic development, the most vulnerable groups in particular, Ambassador Minh said, adding that this is a lesson learned from the Asian monetary and economic crisis that the region experienced in the late 1990’s.

The draft resolution is currently co-sponsored by nearly 100 countries, including several countries of EU and East Europe , the ambassador noted./.