Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) will continue revamping its international cooperation activities in line with the Party’s and State’s policies and guidelines on international integration and the domestic reality, heard a conference in Hanoi on March 22.

MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha told 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 climate change response, environment, water resources, hydrometeorology and land management, while seeking to diversify sources of financial aid.

Between 2011-2015, the ministry received about 162 million USD 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 this field, and elevate the role and position played by Vietnam, and the ministry in particular, regionally and globally.

Vietnam has partnered with a number of countries like Denmark and the Netherlands in climate change response and water resource management.

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