Nguyen Thi Tuyen (R), Vice President of the VFF Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Women's Union, and Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, at their meeting in Hanoi on December 10 (Photo: VNA)  

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has expressed its desire to continue working with Vietnam to promote women’s participation in leadership and management roles, with a particular focus on enhancing the engagement of female elected representatives in the National Assembly (NA) and at provincial and communal levels.

Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, delivered this message at a working session with the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee in Hanoi on December 10.

At the function, Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Vice President of the VFF Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Women's Union, expressed appreciation for UNDP’s active cooperation and support in advancing the country’s development priorities. These include programmes and projects relating to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate change response, and energy transition. She noted that the Party and State have introduced numerous mechanisms and policies aimed at promoting women’s participation in leadership and management. Vietnam is targeting a rate of around 35% female candidates running for the elections to the NA and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.

Notably, she highlighted that for the first time, Vietnam has a female President of the VFF Central Committee and a female Deputy Prime Minister, marking the significant progress of women in leadership. This milestone enhances the status, voice, and participation of women in leadership and management roles.

For her part, Khalidi expressed strong support for Vietnam’s programmes, goals, and plans designed to facilitate women’s involvement in sustainable and green economic development, the production of environmentally friendly goods, and digital governance.

She affirmed that UNDP stands ready to support the Vietnam Women’s Union in initiatives related to economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, women’s access to finance, policymaking, and gender equality.

She also stressed UNDP’s desire to maintain cooperation with the VFF and its member organisations, contributing to the nation’s pursuit of double-digit economic growth and sustainable development, and its ambition of becoming a high-income country by 2045./.