Sweden has set to prioritise environment and climate change issues in its 2009-2013 cooperation with Vietnam, Swedish officials said at a seminar on “sustainable development and climate change” in Hanoi on Mar 18.
Representatives from the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), which co-organised the seminar, said they are willing to assist and facilitate cooperation between Swedish and Vietnamese partners in carrying out projects in the field.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Bich Dat affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has defined that sustainable development is a cause of the people and for the people.
The sustainable development goals the country is striving to achieve include a quality growth and comprehensive social development, reduced poverty, improved living conditions and well-protected environment, Dat said.
However, to achieve those goals requires the Vietnamese government to put elements of sustainable development into its socio-economic development strategies and plans and strictly monitor the implementation of those works.
He hailed the international community and in particular Sweden for their significant assistance in terms of funding and experiences to Vietnam in the course of developing and implementing sustainable development orientations, and hoped to continue receiving supports from countries and organisations with much experience on environmental protection.
In the seminar, which was as part of celebrations of the 40th year of Vietnam-Sweden cooperation, participants assessed the implementation of Swedish-financed programmes on environmental protection and climate change in Vietnam and discussing ways to improve it in the future.