The third ranked UN official joined a Vietnamese vice minister of Planning and Investment here Friday to announce Vietnam to be the first nation in the world to pilot United Nations reform at the country level.

The United Nations is implementing the reform in Vietnam not only because of the country's strong leadership and taking the lead in aid effectiveness, but also long-term relations and mutual trust between the two sides, Head of the UN Development Program and Chair of the United Nations Development Group, Kemal Dervis, said at a press conference.

"Vietnam is at the forefront of the UN move to 'deliver as one'.. The UN family has to combine the diversity of skills and mandates present in its agencies to realize our tremendous potential as partners in development," he said.

The announcement of selecting Vietnam as first UN reform pilot country came nearly a month after the UN High-Level Panel released its report, Delivering as One, which recommended among other things, "to deliver as one at country level, with one leader, one program, one budget and, where appropriate, one office."

Vice minister Cao Viet Sinh said at the press conference that Vietnam and UN would have first joint programs on the reform in the country in January 2007, and that the UN will select 5-7 additional nations as reform pilot countries by late this month.

UN reform is the ongoing process of making improvements in the way the entire UN family of organizations works. The goal is to adapt to new conditions and provide for changing needs, in all of the areas in which the UN is active: development, peace and security, international law, social issues and more.

During his three-day visit to Vietnam starting on Thursday, Dervis is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc, and Vietnam's Tripartite National Task Force on UN Reform.

Source: Xinhua