Bangkok (VNA) – Asia-Pacific countriesneed to reform policies and public services towards encouraging people from allsocial strata to participate in the policy making process to ensureinclusiveness and equality, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen HaiBang.

The ambassador made the call in a speech at aministerial segment of the 75th session of the Economic and Social Commissionfor Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok from May 27-31.

The session, themed “Empowering people andensuring inclusiveness and equality”, saw the participation of more than 550delegates from 46 out of the 53 member countries of the ESCAP.

The Vietnamese ambassador said that althoughover 80 percent of extremely poor people in the region have escaped frompoverty, the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing, meaning that manyvulnerable people are being left behind in economic development.

He suggested improving the quality and expandingthe system of education, training courses, and job opportunities; ensuring thatall people have the right to access education with affordable prices; andenhancing social security and insurance and healthcare services.

He called on developed nations to increasesupport for developing ones in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, especially through building up capacity andtransferring technology and trade and financial resources.

The ambassador stressed that Vietnam has alwaysbeen active in implementing the UN Agenda, particularly via the integration ofsustainable development goals into national action plans and programmes.

So far, Vietnam has gained remarkable outcomes,such as the national poverty rate based on multidimensional standards reduced from9.9 percent in 2015 to under 7 percent in 2017; the rate of people covered byhealth insurance reached 86.4 percent in 2017; and over 99 percent ofhouseholds had access to electricity in 2016, he cited.

The ambassador said that these achievements areattributable to Vietnam’s always placing people at the centre, promoting equalityand ensuring inclusiveness during the policymaking process from the central tolocal levels.

As an active and responsible member of the UN,Vietnam pledges to continue promoting sustainable development around the worldand the Asia-Pacific region in particular, Bang said.–VNA