Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, assigned by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, H.E. Kamal Malhotra, have signed the new Government of Vietnam - United Nations Joint One Strategic Plan (OSP) for the 2017-2021 period, between the government and 18 UN Agencies: FAO, ILO, IOM, ITC, IAEA, UNAIDS, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNODC, UNV, UN Women, and the WHO.

“Through the new OSP 2017-2021, the UN will continue to build on its comparative advantages in providing Vietnam with integrated solutions to complex multidimensional development challenges by drawing on collective regional and global knowledge, supporting a normative voice on human rights, prioritizing equity and citizen-centered reforms, and strengthening South-South cooperation,” Mr. Malhotra said at the signing ceremony.

The signing of the OSP 2017-2021, the new key programmatic and strategic framework for delivering UN support to the government, coincides with the 40th anniversary of the UN - Vietnam partnership. 

It highlights the strong commitment of the UN and the Vietnamese Government to the National Action Plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

The OSP 2017-2021 is built on the three principles of inclusion, equity, and sustainability, and is well aligned with Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2011-2020, its Socio-Economic Development Plan 2016-2020, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as Vietnam’s international human rights commitments.

With an estimated budget of $423 million, the OSP 2017-2021 prioritizes four focus areas shaped by the central themes of the SDGs (People, Planet, Prosperity, and Peace), emphasizing nine related outcomes.

The OSP 2017-2021 advances common ground for the expansion of partnerships between the UN, the government, private sector actors, development partners, and legally established non-State organizations and groups. 

While recognizing Vietnam’s significant economic growth and remarkable poverty reduction, Minister Dung said: “The OSP is signed and implemented as Vietnam begins the National Action Plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Vietnam will apply synchronous measures for curbing inflation, stabilizing the macro-economy, and ensuring social security.”

At the same time, the government will implement drastic and effective solutions to restructure the economy in a comprehensive and inclusive manner. It has been doing its utmost to improve the institutional and policy framework in order to mobilize resources from all economic sectors for the country’s growth. 

Together with other development partners, the UN has played an important role in supporting Vietnam’s development, integration, and active participation in the global development context, through the provision of policy advice and technical support to the government, sharing Vietnam’s experiences with other developing countries, and the introduction of professional experience that help ensure a sustainable and green growth economy with a balance between social and economic development.