India funds seven water projects in Mekong Delta
Can Tho (VNA) - The Indian Government will support seven
water management projects in the Mekong Delta provinces of Ben Tre, Hau Giang,
Kien Giang, and Tien Giang with non-refundable aid of 350,000 USD.
At a ceremony in the Delta’s Can Tho city on September 23, representatives from the Indian
Consulate General in HCM City and the localities signed seven memoranda of understanding for the projects, each worth 50,000 USD.
They are part of 26 quick-impact projects funded by India in 22
Vietnamese cities and provinces, 13 of which have been completed while 12
others will be launched during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Speaking at the event, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma said the traditional
relationship between the two nations is a successful model in terms of institutional
support and capacity improvement in various fields over the past years.
Deputy head of the Foreign Ministry’s General Economic Department Pham
Thi Anh said the activity is a symbol of the enduring friendship among member
states of the Mekong - Ganga Cooperation (MGC) as well as between Vietnam and
India.
The Mekong Delta has been facing drought and saltwater intrusion at record
levels. Rainfall this year is 30-40 percent lower than previous averages and is
forecast to remain low in the future.
The MGC is an initiative by six countries: India and the five
ASEAN countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Launched in
2000, it is one of the longest-standing sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in
the Mekong Delta, with the goal of enhancing solidarity and friendship among
nations and promoting trade and economic development to contribute to improving
people’s lives in the Mekong and Ganga River basins./.