UN official recommends Vietnam focus on energy security

Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said she expected Vietnam can show that there’s a different way to do development and that amidst the uncertain global economic outlook, Vietnam can prove itself as an attractive place for investment by doing a greener, more inclusive development.

The UN official made the remark in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency in Hanoi on July 29.

In regard to how Vietnam can successfully pursue an inclusive and green economic rebound in the post-COVID-19 period, she recommended the country to focus on energy security and energy access for everyone.

The UN official also spoke highly of how Vietnam has changed in the past 45 years since it joined the UN, describing it as “amazing.”

A country coming out of war and dependent on aid is now playing the other role of being a “stable and secured power centre,” she said.

Wignaraja has been on an official visit to Vietnam to follow up a meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner in New York last May, with priority given to the UNDP's support for Vietnam in the context of post-pandemic recovery and financing a sustainable climate and energy transition./.

VNA