Ministry to revamp international cooperation mechanism

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) will revamp its international co-operation activities in line with the Party’s and State’s policies and guidelines on international integration and the current situation, a conference heard in Hanoi on March 22.

MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha asked the conference to review the ministry’s cooperation with development partners for 2011-2015 and chart orientations in 2016.

He said his ministry can take the initiative in seeking foreign aid through such mechanisms as official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loans, public-private partnership and foreign investment.

It will increase collaboration in the forms of partnership, information transfer and experience exchange, instead of playing the role of recipient only, he said.

According to the official, the MoNRE has expanded bilateral and multilateral activities, especially in responding to climate change, the environment, water resources, hydrometeorology and land management, while actively seeking to diversify sources of financial aid.

From 2011-2015, the ministry received approximately US$162 million in ODA, which has helped the State’s investments in natural resources and environment amidst a limited domestic budget.

The financial assistance has also helped strengthen officials’ management capacity, expand affiliation with partners in the field, as well as elevate the role and position played by Vietnam and the ministry in particular, both regionally and globally.

Vietnam has partnered up with a number of countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands on climate change response and water resource management.

The ministry has also received support from Japan, New Zealand, France, Finland, Sweden and Australia, among other nations, to implement its strategic action programmes.

(Source: NDO)