US to assist An Giang in drought, landslide and saltwater response hinh anh 1At the working session (Photo: VNA)

An Giang (VNA) - A working delegation from the US Consulate General, led by Defence Attaché Col. Thomas Stevenson, met with authorities of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on November 10 to discuss drought, landslides, and saltwater intrusion in the locality.

The Mekong Delta is one of three regions hardest hit by climate change, with An Giang being one of the four provinces in the key economic zone to suffer from its impact.

Drought in An Giang is the result of a lack of water in the Mekong River, prolonged hot weather, and low rainfall. In addition to saltwater intrusion, the province also faces a risk of landslides along riverbanks and dykes totalling nearly 172 km in length.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Anh Thu said An Giang and the US Consulate General have established close cooperative relations in the fields of education and training, healthcare, social welfare, and the environment, contributing to the province's socio-economic development and boosting Vietnam-US ties.

He expressed his wish to cooperate with the US via specific and practical projects in the near future.

Provincial authorities suggested the US help build a training programme to improve capacity, launch a pilot model on the use and management of water resources amid climate change, and conduct a pre-feasibility report and approve a project on a fresh water reservoir to form part of irrigation infrastructure in service of production in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle.

They also proposed the US cooperate in four projects to build dykes in An Phu and Tan Chau districts, pilot the installation of water supply systems to benefit about 350 households in An Hao commune in Tinh Bien district, and study the development of an early landslide warning system.

Stevenson said the US will send experts to An Giang to survey the flow of the Mekong River as it passes through the Delta, thus proposing measures to help with climate change response. 

The US delegation also paid a field trip to survey the landslide situation and Tra Su fresh water reservoir in the province./.

VNA