23 June 2021, China: The Secretary-General of the United Nations made an appeal to world leaders, nation’s leaders to attend the 2021 United Nations Food System Summit to be held in September 2021.
The conference aims to help shape the Food System and promote collective action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and will focus on five action tracks:
ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all;
shifting to sustainable consumption pattern;
boosting nature-positive production;
advance equitable livelihoods and value distribution;
build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses.
Vietnam, as a member of the United Nations, under the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, has been organizing 2 national-level dialogues and 3 regional-level dialogues (North, South, and Central). The 1st National Dialogue was held on June 15, 2020 and the Central Region Dialogue was held on June 17, 2021.
Following the above dialogues, on June 22, in Hanoi, the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) coordinated with the Market Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the Children’s Fund of the United Nations (UNICEF) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (GGIAR) organized the Northern Regional Thematic Dialogue “Vietnam’s Food System: Transparency, Accountability, Sustainability”.
The dialogue covered 3 main themes: Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food and shifting to sustainable consumption; Boosting sustainable production and enhancing resilience to vulnerabilities, shock and stress; Eradicating poverty, increasing income, and advancing equitable livelihoods and value distribution.
The dialogue introduced the UN Food Summit 2021 and the participation of Vietnam, identify possible pathways to build a sustainable food system by 2030, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
According to Director of t Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development Le Duc Thinh, the dialogue is an opportunity for stakeholders to share their roles in the Northern Food System and then considering the impact, together finding new ways to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The results of the Dialogue on the Northern Food System are pivotal and will be incorporated into the joint report Vietnam will present at the United Nations Summit in September, 2021, towards a broad systems perspective that reflects the link between Food Systems and the Sustainable Development Goals” said Mr. Le Duc Thinh.
