Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Vietnam's Permanent Representative to the UN, delivers a speech at the 56th session of the Commission for Social Development, January 29, 2018. (Photo: VNA)

Themed “Strategies for eradicating poverty to achieve sustainable development for all”, high-level panel discussions focused on sharing experience in poverty eradication and assessing the implementation of the UN’s Program of Actions on Disabled Persons, Ageing, Youth, and Family.

On behalf of the Association of South East Asian Nations, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Vietnam's Permanent Representative to the UN, noted ASEAN’s assurance in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and reaffirmed the priority of narrowing the development gap between ASEAN nations.

Ambassador Nga reviewed ASEAN’s recent achievements in eradicating poverty. In particular, the number of extreme poverty cases saw a drastic downturn from 138 million in 2000 to 44 million in 2015. Nga cited ASEAN’s attempt to involve the public, reflected in the Disability Decade, the Women’s Economic Empowerment, and the Youth Development Index.