Hanoi (VNA) – A workshop took place in Hanoion October 18 to discuss ways to foster sustainable and inclusive growth inVietnam.

The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Academy ofSocial Sciences (VASS) in partnership with the Vietnam National Commission forUNESCO and the UNESCO Office in Hanoi.

Participants shared views on pressing issues related tothe pillars of sustainable development and how sustainable development isassociated with inclusive growth. They, thereby, recommended necessaryinterventions and amendments to policies to bridge the gaps and reduce socialinequality.

Sustainable development is a goal and necessaryrequirement of every country around the world which has created bothopportunities and challenges to national construction, said VASS Vice PresidentDang Nguyen Anh.

Rising inequality in the distribution of economic growththreatens sustainable development and poses huge challenges to the country’sdevelopment model, he added.

UNESCO Representative to Vietnam Michael Croft saidgrowth is fundamental to social development but in order to achieve sustainablegrowth, it is vital to encourage the involvement of the entire community,especially women.

At present, UNESCO is implementing various programmes topromote sustainable development in Vietnam and in the coming time, UNESCO willexpand projects in many more sectors to create employment opportunities for morepeople, he noted.

Vietnam has recorded a drastic change in employment, awayfrom agriculture and towards services and manufacturing. The country startedoff as a highly agrarian economy with 80 percent of workers in agriculture inthe early days of the “Doi Moi” (reform) period. In 2015, the employment shareof agriculture shrank to 44.3 percent, with the labour force shifting towardsservices and manufacturing which generated 33.4 percent of employment. However,agriculture today still employs 70 percent of the rural population, even thoughthe sector only contributes to 16 percent of the GDP.

The informal sector employs 11 million out of the total46 million workers, who account for almost half of all informal employmentoutside of farmlands. Of these people, 43 percent work in manufacturing andconstruction, while 31 percent and 26 percent work in trade and services,respectively.

Many challenges remain, hindering the country’s progressin achieving inclusive growth – most notably in creating jobs for rural people,said Anh. He suggested the country develop more social policies exclusively fordisadvantaged communities like the poor, the elderly, the unemployed, and thedisabled.–VNA