VietNamNet Bridge - United Nations Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson is paying a visit to Vietnam from May 3-6 to engage with senior government and UN officials on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the work on the World Humanitarian Summit and climate change.

United Nations Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson.

During the visit Eliasson will meet with leading government officials to discuss the evolving role of the UN in Vietnam and the progress of ongoing UN reform.

He is expected to discuss the efforts that Vietnam is making in disaster risk management. He will also visit Ben Tre, one of the areas currently affected by a severe El Nino related drought.

During his visit to Hanoi he will also deliver a lecture to students at the Diplomatic Academy, and visit the National Pediatric Hospital, which has historic links to Olof Palme, the former Swedish Prime Minister.

The UN is helping Vietnam foster inclusive, equitable and sustainable development; to ensure access to quality essential services and social protection and to enhance governance and inclusive participation.

The UN in Vietnam and Government are expected to sign a new 5 year plan of cooperation for Vietnam for 2017-2021 in the coming months.  

Eliasson has had several decades of experience in diplomacy, conflict resolution and humanitarian action. Between 1980-1986, Eliasson was part of the UN mediation missions in the war between Iran and Iraq, and served as mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh and Darfur conflicts. 

Eliasson was appointed the first UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in 1992. He later served as State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Sweden’s Ambassador to the United States, and in 2006 was appointed Foreign Minister of Sweden.

In March 2012, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the UN by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and took office on 1 July 2012.