Jakarta (VNA) – ASEAN member states and China have agreed to boost partnership in implementing sustainable devel𓆉opment goals (SDGs).

In a symposium on the 2030 sustainable development agenda held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 19, representatives from ASEAN countries, China, and the United Nations (UN) Development Programme (UNDP) discussed policies to cope with poverty, inequality and challenges in the context of the 2030 agenda and the 2025 ASEAN Vision. The symposium included two roundtable sessions with the focus on priority actions related to poverty reduction, sustainable environment, investment, health care, and education. Challenges facing ASEAN in implementing SDGs and cooperation between the bloc and China in the work were among discussions. Haoliang Xu, Regional Director for UNDP Asia and the Pacific Bureau, stressed the importance of the 2030 agenda, which was adopted in the UN Summit last September and set forth sustainable development goals for the next 15 years. UNDP is running numerous investment projects in ASEAN and China in the fields of socio-economic development, culture and the environment, and wants to contribute more to help ASEAN achieve its targets, he added. In his interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Jakarta, Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General, hailed the significance of the symposium as it helped boost cooperation between ASEAN, China and UNDP in achieving SDGs. ASEAN can learn from China’s experience in economic development and poverty reduction in order to become one of the world’s biggest economies, he stated. The symposium was hosted by the ASEAN secretariat, China's Mission to ASEAN, and the UNDP.-VNA