Vietnam, Netherlands strengthen cooperation in climate change adaption, water management

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers co-chaired the eighth meeting of the Vietnam-Netherlands Inter-Governmental Committee on climate change adaptation and water management on June 27 in The Hague.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha (fourth from left) (Photo: VNA)

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers co-chaired the eighth meeting of the Vietnam-Netherlands Inter-Governmental Committee on climate change adaptation and water management on June 27 in The Hague.

Deputy PM Ha expressed his delight at positive development of the bilateral relations, including the strategic partnership on climate change adaptation and water management.

According to him, since the seventh meeting in March 2019, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have actively implemented 19 bilateral cooperation contents, of which 10 have been completed, notably the Mekong River Delta Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050; the Mekong River Basin general planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, together with the establishment of a Regional Coordinating Council on the basis of the recommendations of the Mekong Delta Plan (MDP).
Ha thanked the Netherlands for its active and effective contributions to Vietnam’s sustainable socio-economic development, hoping to receive the country’s support in the fields of green transition, renewable energy, water resource management and climate change response.

The two sides conducted a strategic policy dialogue on climate change response and water management, updated on related policies and priority activities of both Vietnam and the Netherlands.

The Vietnamese side made specific cooperation proposals in the priority areas of climate change response, water management, green agriculture, circular economy, flood management, seaports, digital transformation, and human resources training. The Dutch side acknowledged the proposals, affirming that it will continue coordinating with relevant agencies of Vietnam.
They agreed on new potential cooperation contents for the coming period, including the signing of a Joint Cooperation Plan in the field of sustainable offshore sand mining on this occasion.

The two officials exchange the minutes of the 8th meeting (Photo: VNA)

The two sides then signed the Minutes of the 8th meeting, and agreed that the next one will be held in Vietnam with the specific date to be decided through diplomatic channels.

Deputy PM Ha then had a meeting with Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy of the Netherlands, during which he affirmed Vietnam always attaches importance to promoting its comprehensive partnership with the Netherlands and wishes to work with the nation to deepen the strategic partnership framework on climate change adaptation and sustainable agriculture.

Speaking highly of the Prince’s experience and role as the Climate Envoy, Ha showed his hope that the Prince will encourage Dutch businesses to transfer technology and invest in the fields of climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy transition, digital transformation, and smart infrastructure construction in Vietnam; and support the development of regulations and provide financial assistance to facilitate the country’s climate change adaptation.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha (R) meets Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme (Photo: VNA)

The Netherlands’s Climate Envoy appreciated Vietnam’s strong commitments to climate change response, as well as its active and responsible participation in the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held recently in France. He stressed maintaining support for Vietnam in implementating the Mekong Delta Planning, and completing a legal framework on water management and energy transition.

On this occasion, the two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. The Prince appreciated Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations and its settlement of disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha works with representatives from Invest International (Photo: VNA)

Also within the framework of his working visit to the Netherlands, Ha visited the Invest International Fund, the Green Hydrogen Centre and the Global Center on Adaptation in the Port of Rotterdam.

On June 27 afternoon, the Deputy PM left the Netherlands for Hanoi, concluding his working visit to the European nation./.

Source: vietnamplus