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Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai receives Chief Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi (Photo: SGGP) |
Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai made the statement at a reception of Chief Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Vietnam (UNDP) Ramla Khalidi on her business trip to the southern largest city.
At the meeting, Chairman Phan Van Mai said that UNDP had made great contributions to the development of Vietnam for 45 years of operation in Vietnam, from perfecting institutions and policies to implementing development programs, especially attracting private resources for contributions in the social field.
Ho Chi Minh City is the economic center of Vietnam, with great openness to the world economy. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City urgently needs the UNDP’s cooperation, shared information and experts to improve the capacity to withstand the impact of external factors and the adaptability of the economy.
Mr. Phan Van Mai affirmed that Ho Chi Minh City and UNDP have a lot of potential for cooperation and contribute to realizing the framework of cooperation between UNDP and the Government of Vietnam. City leaders expected UNDP's cooperation in public governance capacity improvement, urban management problems, climate change adaptability, and waste treatment management. The city identifies sustainable development as the goal of the city as well as the country, with special attention to the issues of energy conversion, waste management and circular economy.
Therefore, city leaders are looking forward to the UNDP’s cooperation and support including suggestions on developing a circular economy strategy and green energy transformation such as increasing clean energy from solar energy and offshore wind. Moreover, the UNDP can help the southern metropolis to build institutions and technical infrastructure, improve the capacity of ecosystem cooperation, and contribute to effectively handling challenges in order to reduce pressure on socio-economic issues.
On this occasion, Chairman Phan Van Mai invited Mrs. Ramla Khalidi to attend the Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum to be held in September, with the theme of focusing on green growth and sustainable development.
Ms. Ramla Khalidi thanked the leader of Ho Chi Minh City for taking the time to receive her, saying that the good results of cooperation between the UNDP and the city will pave the way for close and effective cooperation between UNDP and Ho Chi Minh City in the future. UNDP was present in Vietnam right after the end of the war, actively contributing to helping Vietnam overcome the consequences of the war as well as throughout the process of construction and development of Vietnam over the past 45 years.
Ms. Ramla Khalidi noticed the concerns and priorities of Ho Chi Minh City as she said that UNDP is also paying attention to Vietnam’s sustainable economic development and growth, net-zero emissions, social development, and cooperation in the development of specific projects in many fields. UNDP Vietnam is ready to work with Ho Chi Minh City to strengthen discussions at the technical level, to soon realize the potential of cooperation in concrete and practical projects.
