Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Siren Gjerme Eriksen at the event (Source:voh.com.vn) HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam andNorway will forge stronger cooperation in maritime economy for the interest of residentsin coastal localities, heard a conference on maritime economy held by the NorwegianEmbassy in Ho Chi Minh City on November 23.
According to Nguyen Hoang Ha from theDevelopment Strategy Institute under the Ministry of Planning and Investment,with advantages of a long coastline spanning from north to south, Vietnam boastshigh potential in sea-based industries, trade and services.
However, the exploitation of maritimeeconomy in Vietnamhas been limited as the annual production value has stayed modest, he said.
Ha also pointed to challenges facing Vietnamin effective developing sea-based economy and protecting the environment at thesame time in the context of climate change, adding that Vietnam should make newpolicies and planning and widen its international cooperation for improving thesituation.
Meanwhile, Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam SirenGjerme Eriksen said that Norway and Vietnam share similar strength in sea-basedeconomy, maritime navigation and oil and gas, which enabled them to cooperatein the areas over the past years.
Since 1979, Norway has supported Vietnam inpersonnel training for the oil and gas sector, she said, adding that Norway hasalso worked with Vietnam in developing standards in environment and safety forthe sector.
In the future, if negotiations on the freetrade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Area (whichcomprises of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) succeed, theVietnam-Norway trade and investment ties will thrive, she said.
At the same time, Erik Hempel, Director ofCommunications at the Nor-Fishing Foundation, shared his opinion on thesignificance of science and technology in fisheries development. He alsopointed to the need of a complete legal framework for sustainable development.
Within the conference’s framework, a numberof thematic discussions were held on maritime economic sectors of bothcountry’s strength, technology in seaport operation and sustainable developmentof the shipbuilding industry./.
VNA
