Addressing a workshop on the role of the UN in the 21st century in Ha Noi on Oct. 24, FM Nien said Viet Nam has been selected by the UN as a pilot country to implement a number of important renovations in the UN development activities, for example, the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS), the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the Human Development Report (HDR).

"In the midst of our comprehensive reform process, UN agencies and other development partners have worked with Viet Nam in many important fields, including economic and administrative reforms, social development, poverty reduction and Viet Nam's integration into the regional and global economy," he confirmed. "Our joint work has made a positive impact on the life of the Vietnamese people, especially Vietnamese women and children."

According to the top diplomat in the assessment of UN agencies, Viet Nam has made impressive progress towards the achievement of numerous MDGs, bringing Viet Nam closer to the full achievement of the MDGs by 2015.

In his keynote speech at the workshop, which was jointly held by the Vietnamese Government and the UN in celebration of the 60th UN anniversary, Jordan Ryan, UN Resident Coordinator, emphasised that the environment in which the UN development agencies operate has also changed over the years. Viet Nam provides a good example of these changes.

He emphasised that the UN needs to improve to perform these functions more effectively and efficiently. "We have made significant progress. UN agencies now work together more closely and our programmes are more closely aligned under the UN Development Assistance Framework."

"We need to strengthen coordination, reduce duplication and transaction costs and focus more clearly on our core mission," Ryan elaborated.

Also at the meeting, representatives of relevant state agencies of Viet Nam and UN agencies were heard reports by Viet Nam on the outcome of the 2005 World Summit and the implications for Viet Nam, the integration of MDGs into the country's next five-year socio-economic development plan, and a report by the UN country team on the role of the UN in the 21st century./.