At the press conference. (Photo: VNA) Can Tho(VNA) – Information on the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) conference onclimate change response toward sustainability is updated at a press conferenceheld in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho on June 18.
The conference on June 18-20 in Can Tho city is jointly organised by the Ministryof Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmentand the city’s People’s Committee.
According to Nguyen Minh Hang, Deputy Director-General of the Department ofMultilateral Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and headof the Vietnamese ASEM senior official meeting (SOM), the conference is aninitiative of Vietnam which was approved at the 13th ASEM Ministerial Meetinglast November in Myanmar and won support and sponsorship from many countries,including Australia, Denmark, Myanmar, Finland, the Netherlands and Italy.
The conference is one of the most important inter-regional events on climatechange and the only one of ASEM 2018 hosted by Vietnam. It is also the firstASEM initiative in its third decade of cooperation on climate change responsetoward sustainability.
The event’s four plenary meetings focus on discussions on development in thecontext of climate change, building capacity to adapt to climate change,actions in response to climate change which feature the role of relevantparties, and shaping the future which promotes Asia-Europe climate partnershipfor sustainable development.
Vietnam is assessed as one of the countries hardest hit by climate change.Especially, the Mekong Delta region is one of the three deltas in the worldmost vulnerable to sea level rise, together with the Nile River Delta in Egyptand the Ganges River Delta in Bangladesh.
Vietnam joined the forum in 1996. The country organised the 5th ASEM Summit in2004, and economic ministers’ meeting (2001), information-technology ministers’meeting (2006), foreign and education ministers’ meetings (2009) and labourministers’ meeting (2012).
In 2017, Vietnam carried out the Prime Minister’s initiative at the 11th ASEMSummit in Mongolia in July 2016 by hosting the ASEM conference on innovativeeducation and human resources building for sustainable development in Hue cityon March. The country chaired the 37th meeting of the Asia-Europe Foundation(ASEF) Board of Governors.- VNA
VNA
