The requirement was made by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Thi Hang at an international workshop in Hanoi on November 30 to collect recommendations for the building of a comprehensive social welfare system in Vietnam.

The Minister stressed that the State would pay close attention to those who rendered their services to the country.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, John Hendra, said the Vietnamese Government has been investing in social assistance programmes to improve the living conditions and life chances of people not able to benefit immediately and directly from economic growth “long before it became fashionable in the international community”.

However, social policy in Vietnam must change with economic growth, integration and modernisation, he added. As a result, the Government must carefully assess the impact of existing provisions and explore new opportunities for policy renovation.

The workshop was co-organised by MoLISA, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP).