On the morning of November 18, 2024 (local time), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the 2024 G20 Summit opened with the theme "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet" under the chairmanship of Brazilian President Lula da Silva, G20 Chair 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the conference.
The conference opened with the launching ceremony of the Global Alliance against Poverty and Hunger, following a discussion on efforts to combat these issues. During the meeting, Brazilian President Lula da Silva affirmed that “poverty reduction not only ensures social justice but is also the core condition for building a prosperous society and a peaceful world”, and at the same time, announced the list of founding countries of the Alliance, including Vietnam.
Speaking at the discussion session on the fight against poverty and hunger, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted Vietnam's achievements as a successful model in poverty reduction. From a poor, backward country, heavily devastated after nearly 40 years of war and 30 years of embargo, with the renovation policy, Vietnam has set a goal of reducing multidimensional and inclusive poverty, along with overcoming shortages in health, education, housing, clean water, and living environment, and thus has reached the target 10 years early in implementing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals; in which the poverty rate has decreased from over 58% in the early 1990s to about 1.9% in 2024. Vietnam has risen to be among the world's leading agricultural exporters, especially rice.
The Prime Minister shared three lessons from Vietnam's experience in poverty reduction with other countries. Firstly, do not sacrifice social security, progress, social justice, and the environment in pursuit of economic growth alone. Secondly, place special importance on food security and recognize agriculture as the pillar of the economy. Finally, focus on people, prioritize investment in human resources, and develop high-quality talent associated with science, technology, and innovation.
On that basis, the Prime Minister proposed three strategic guarantees for the cause of global poverty eradication.
Firstly, ensuring peace, stability and development cooperation is a prerequisite for poverty eradication and inclusive development. According to the Prime Minister, the G20 needs to promote its leading role in ensuring peace, stability and development cooperation, and not politicize science and technology, development issues, especially trade, agriculture and food security.
Second, ensuring an efficient, stable, adaptive and climate-resilient global agri-food system is a long-term foundation. The Prime Minister called on the G20 to increase technology transfer, technical assistance, preferential finance and smart governance for developing and underdeveloped countries in the transition to green and sustainable agriculture and support the assurance of food supply chains for low-income countries.
Third is to ensure investment in people, taking education and training, and social security as key tasks for building a harmonious, inclusive, and sustainable society. Taking people as the center, subject, goal, driving force, and resource for sustainable development.
On the afternoon of November 18, local time, the Prime Minister attended the discussion session on “Reforming global governance institutions”. During the G20 Presidency year, Brazil issued a Call for Action on Global Governance Reform, the first document promoted by the G20 and open to all UN member states. Vietnam is one of the pioneering developing countries supporting the Call.
On November 19, the Prime Minister attended and spoke at the Session on Sustainable Development and Energy Transition.
