US, Australia, Japan support development of Mekong Delta

Delegation of Consuls General of Australia, Japan and the US visited Can Tho City (Photo: US Consulate General).

The three Consuls General in Ho Chi Minh City, Susan Burns (USA), Sarah Hooper (Australia) and Ono Masuo (Japan), visited Can Tho City on October 24-25. During the visit, the Consuls General met with Can Tho leaders, the Board of Directors of Can Tho University, ecologists and the local business community to emphasize their shared commitment to the Mekong Delta in particular and the Indo-Pacific region in general.

The Consuls General highlighted bilateral and multilateral priorities during their meeting on October 24 with Can Tho Party Secretary Nguyen Van Hieu and Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee Tran Viet Truong. They also discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the three diplomatic missions and Can Tho to meet the city’s needs in various areas such as trade, energy, climate change, health, technology, and education.

“Today, we celebrate not only our respective bilateral partnerships with Vietnam, but also the collective impact of working together,” said US Consul General Susan Burns.

“Our three countries are deeply invested in Vietnam’s success. Vietnam’s success is our success, and we recognize Vietnam’s important role in ensuring regional security and stability. We will continue to address Vietnam’s needs and priorities, such as clean energy, climate resilience, agriculture, the digital economy, trade facilitation, health care, and higher education,” Consul General Burns affirmed.

"Australia, Japan and the United States share a commitment to an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where we can all cooperate, do business and thrive. We are making positive contributions to the Indo-Pacific region by delivering practical results that meet Vietnam and the region's priorities, including advancing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals," Australian Consul General Sarah Hooper affirmed.

Delegation of Consuls General of Australia, Japan and the US visited Can Tho University (Photo: US Consulate General).

"Japan has been providing Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Can Tho University since 1969 to promote agricultural and fisheries production, as well as respond to climate change in the Mekong Delta provinces and Can Tho City. Today's visit demonstrates the great potential of many stakeholders working together to bring new prosperity to the region while protecting the environment in innovative ways," said Japanese Consul General Ono Masuo.

The Consuls General visited Can Tho University on October 25 to learn about their respective countries’ cooperation programs with Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region, focusing on climate change adaptation, pollution reduction, environmental clean-up, and education. The Consuls General also took a boat trip on the Mekong River with leading ecologists to see first-hand the impacts of climate change on local communities. They also considered proposals on how the three countries can support Vietnam and the lower Mekong countries in promoting stability, peace, prosperity, and sustainable development.

The Consuls General also visited the river cleaning system "The Interceptor 003", a joint project of Coca-Cola Vietnam and The Ocean Cleanup, with the capacity to collect 55 tons of waste from the Can Tho River every day. The Consuls General also visited the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute and research facilities for building a sustainable rice value chain for smallholder farmers, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, in partnership with the SunRice Group.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/my-australia-nhat-ban-ho-tro-su-phat-trien-cua-dong-bang-song-cuu-long-20231025164719387.htm