Kien Giang (VNA) – US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper on December 5 announced a new 12.5 million USD foreign assistance package to Vietnam, during a meeting with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien at the Department of Fisheries Surveillance (DFIRES) Training Facility, Region 5 in Phu Quoc city, the southern province of Kien Giang.
Made possible by the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the assistance package will support Vietnam in strengthening maritime law enforcement and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
It includes support for Vietnamese maritime law enforcement agencies, including DFIRES, the Ministry of Public Security, and General Department of Vietnam Customs, via the donation of small boats, capacity building, and the development of realistic maritime law enforcement training facilities.
Tien said that he appreciated the US support and the attention that the US Ambassador pays to Vietnam's fisheries industry through programmes, projects, and technical assistance in the field of aquatic resources conservation, especially support for capacity building for Vietnam fisheries surveillance forces and anti-IUU fishing efforts.
He emphasised that this support package will help add important resources to Vietnam's fisheries surveillance and maritime law enforcement forces to continue effectively implementing their tasks, especially combating IUU fishing, he said.
During his visit to Phu Quoc, Ambassador Knapper also observed maritime boarding scenarios performed by Vietnamese fisheries enforcement and customs officers, including many women officers, as part of an ongoing series of capacity building activities supported by the US Mission to Vietnam, through INL, to promote the meaningful participation of women in maritime law enforcement./.
