Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization

On the afternoon of May 12, receiving Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Kitack Lim, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked IMO to continue supporting Vietnam in developing the maritime industry, especially in management science and human resource training...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the first visit of the IMO Secretary General to Vietnam; thanked the valuable contributions and support of the United Nations, including the role of IMO, to Vietnam. The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is a responsible member country in implementing international conventions in general and the international convention on maritime in particular. In the context of many changes in the world and the region with new trends, in the spirit of respect, cooperation for mutual development, and being a reliable partner, the Vietnamese Government hopes that IMO will continue to be a pioneering international organization, promoting cooperation between Vietnam and member countries in the field of maritime cooperation. According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam is a developing country with a transitional economy. Vietnam has signed free trade agreements with more than 60 economies in the world. Vietnam's trade turnover in 2022 will reach over 732 billion USD. Vietnam has a coastline of over 3,000 km, located on an important international shipping route, with many deep-water ports. Therefore, Vietnam has a strategic position and great potential for developing the maritime industry. Over the past years, Vietnam's maritime industry has developed strongly, including with the support of the International Maritime Organization. To further strengthen cooperation in the maritime and maritime fields, the Prime Minister requested that IMO and the Secretary-General continue to support and help Vietnam improve its maritime capacity, turn the potential for maritime development into advantages, make practical contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic development and promote peace, stability, cooperation and development in the world. At the same time, support Vietnam in the process of building and perfecting the maritime legal system and participating in signing and implementing international treaties on maritime to ensure maritime safety, maritime security and freedom of navigation, protect the marine environment, and ensure freedom of navigation at sea is smooth and convenient.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

The IMO Secretary General expressed his admiration and congratulations on Vietnam's development achievements in many fields, and was strongly impressed by Vietnam's vision, determination, efforts, and solutions in achieving the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Mr. Kitack Lim said that although Vietnam is a developing country, it is determined and making efforts to act like a developed country in the field of renewable energy and climate change response, and hopes that the Prime Minister will share more about this content; suggest that Vietnam increase experience sharing, cooperate with member countries, and work with IMO to implement commitments on emission reduction and sustainable maritime development. The head of the Government shared practical and scientific bases for Vietnam to develop the renewable energy industry. Emphasizing Vietnam's great potential in developing wind, solar, biomass, hydrogen, etc., the Prime Minister said that Vietnam has committed to reducing net emissions to zero by 2050. Most recently, at the 42nd ASEAN Summit, Vietnam and ASEAN countries adopted a document on the development of an electric vehicle ecosystem, also to contribute to the goal of reducing carbon emissions. The Prime Minister requested that IMO study and have policies to support developing countries, including Vietnam, in building strategies, planning, and developing the maritime industry; building and perfecting institutions; providing capital, researching and applying technology, training human resources, and improving management capacity. In particular, he requested that IMO support training to improve the quality of human resources in the maritime industry, and continue to consider granting scholarships to Vietnamese maritime officials to participate in advanced training courses at IMO training facilities around the world. The IMO Secretary-General highly agreed with the views and said that IMO will actively implement cooperation proposals according to the Prime Minister's opinions, especially in supporting human resource training.

Pham Tiep (Vietnam News Agency)