Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) ChairwomanNguyen Thi Kim Ngan received new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)Country Director for Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen in Hanoi on November 8.

The host leader voiced her belief that with morethan 25 years of experience gained through various important positions, Wiesen,who is UNDP Country Director for 2017-2019, will considerably contribute to theVietnam-UN cooperation as well as between the Vietnamese parliament and theUNDP.

She appreciated the UN and UNDP’s assistance toVietnam’s socio-economic development, especially in poverty reduction, HIV/AIDSfight, child care and protection, disease and natural disaster prevention andcontrol, climate change response, administrative reform, and improvingVietnam’s integration capacity. 

That support has enabled Vietnam to promotesustainable development, she noted, stressing that over the last four decades,Vietnam has been an active and responsible member of the UN and fulfilled theroles that it has been entrusted by the UN.

Chairwoman Ngan hailed the UNDP’s strongcooperation with the Vietnamese NA over the past 20 years, which has focused onimproving parliamentarians’ lawmaking and supervisory capacity and skills.

In recent years, the UNDP has effectivelyassisted the NA in analysing policies, proposing recommendations regardingimportant draft laws, and enhancing the NA’s supervision of the implementationof international conventions and treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

Caitlin Wiesen agreed with her host on thefruitful cooperation between the UNDP and the NA, valuing Vietnam’s efforts inpoverty elimination and gender equality promotion.

The UNDP has completed translating thesustainable development self-assessment toolkit for parliaments, built by theInter-Parliamentary Union and the UNDP, into Vietnamese. 

Wiesen said she hopes the Vietnamese NA willintroduce this translated toolkit to lawmakers and relevant agencies of thecountry, thus helping to provide information about Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, the action framework and parliaments’ engagement to promote therealisation of these Goals.

Chairwoman Ngan thanked the UNDP for translatingthe toolkit and considered this toolkit as important to achieving the Goals.

At the meeting, the host leader suggestedcooperation orientations for the UNDP and the Vietnamese NA, asking the UNDP tocontinue its technical support for the local parliament in improving thelegislative capacity, supervising the implementation of the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, responding to climate change, and socio-economicdevelopment issues.-VNA