Participants at the meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiative (GDI) in New York on May 9. (Source: UN)

Viet Nam has highlighted the significance of maintaining peace for the promotion of global development at the high-level virtual meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiative (GDI), which was held in New York on May 9 with the theme “Deepening Cooperation under Global Development Initiative for Accelerated Implementation of the 2030 Agenda”.

The event was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, and Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin. Among others, there were 6 Ministers and nearly 30 Ambassadors, Heads of Permanent Delegations to the UN, member countries of the Group and representatives of development agencies of the United Nations.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN, underlined that without peace, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved, adding that maintaining peace and stability is a prerequisite for post-COVID 19 pandemic recovery and development.

The Vietnamese representative stressed the need to uphold the spirit of peace, cooperation, transparency, openness, inclusiveness, equality and mutual benefit, and respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law, taking into account the interests and cultural diversity of member countries.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang highlights significance of peace in global development at the high-level virtual meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiative (GDI). (Photo: Bao TGVN)

Ambassador Giang said developed countries should strengthen support for developing ones in terms of science-technology, digital technology, infrastructure development, capacity improvement and financial resources. The diplomat highlighted the role of the UN development system in sharing knowledge and expertise to assist developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Regarding the operation of the Group of Friends in the time to come, Ambassador Giang held that the concerns and interests of the member countries should be fully considered during the negotiation and decision-making processes. At the same time, in order to achieve substantial outcomes, the group should consider a number of priority areas to focus on for each year, he said.

The Friends of Global Development Initiative was established in January 2022 at the proposal of China, with 53 members, to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Speaking at the event, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi called for close coordination of all countries to implement the GDI and resume global cooperation for the 2030 Agenda, along with the creation of favourable conditions for development and the reform of the global governance system to strengthen the representation of developing countries and promote the building of an open economy. In addition, developed countries also need to fulfill their commitments to support development and scale up financial and technological support to developing countries, he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his belief that the GDI will help speed up the realisation of SDGs through the reform of the global financial system, climate change response and green transformation commitments, and the promotion of peace and human rights and re-commitments to multilateralism.