Congratulating Ms. Aler Grubbs on becoming the new Director of the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam for the 2022-2026 term, the Deputy Minister hopes that during this term, with her leadership and direction, the cooperation between USAID and Vietnamese agencies, including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, will achieve many important steps forward, contributing to enhancing and promoting the partnership between Vietnam and the United States.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment always attaches importance to and highly appreciates the role of USAID as a very important development partner. In recent times, USAID has provided much support to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the environmental field.
It is known that in January 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on the contents of air quality management, water resources, biodiversity, solid waste management and ocean plastic waste, climate change and other areas of mutual interest. This event marks a special development in the cooperative relationship between the two Parties; at the same time, it acknowledges that the Parties share a common interest in contributing to the implementation of sustainable development goals, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the cause of environmental protection.
After signing the MOU, the two sides worked to concretize the content of the MOU with some specific results, namely implementing the "Pollution Reduction" Project, with the Department of Environmental Pollution Control as the project owner and the implementing unit being Winrock International, the agency authorized by USAID to manage the budget and coordinate with the parties to implement the project. The project is implemented in the period of 2022-2026.
In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and USAID have developed a proposal for the Project “Vietnam Takes Action Against Plastic Pollution” with the Department of Environmental Pollution Control expected to be the project owner and the implementing unit being Chemonics International Inc., the implementing agency of USAID. The project will be implemented in the period of 2023-2027.
Additionally, USAID, through the Center for Environment and Community Research (CECR), is currently working with and supporting the Department of Water Resources Management to strengthen the policy framework on water resources management and security, specifically supporting the revision of the 2012 Law on Water Resources.
Acknowledging the results of this cooperation, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh hopes that in the coming time, under the direction of Ms. Aler Grubbs, the fields and cooperation activities between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and USAID will be increasingly expanded, especially in implementing the results of COP26 and the field of environmental protection.
Specifically, the Deputy Minister proposed that USAID study a multilateral cooperation mechanism to help Vietnam solve the problem of ocean plastic waste; cooperate in basic geological surveys and geological disasters; cooperate to preserve biodiversity and protect landscapes in the Mekong Delta region.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister also thanked the United States for its support for the Mekong River Commission through its support for monitoring water use in the Mekong River Basin. Meanwhile, with its location in the downstream of the basin, Vietnam is very interested in this issue.
Along with the issue of water use, Vietnam is also making efforts to implement its commitment at COP 26, and the Joint Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) is a mark of the countries' support for Vietnam in implementing this commitment. The new information is that the Vietnamese Government has approved the Power Plan VIII, with new goals for renewable energy development. Based on this, the Deputy Minister proposed that USAID support Vietnam in a fair energy transition. At the same time, the Deputy Minister hopes that the two sides will find initiatives to change energy policy in the Mekong region, from reducing investment in hydropower projects, focusing on promoting renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power.
Agreeing with Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh, Ms. Aler Grubbs said that USAID is very interested in implementing JETP in Vietnam. The United States also has programs and projects to supplement Vietnam's successful implementation of JETP. "We are also very interested in Vietnam's implementation of the VIII Power Master Plan. How can Vietnam achieve the targets in the plan and the strong commitments it has made, while still ensuring economic development? In the near future, USAID can support Vietnam in this process," Ms. Aler Grubbs said.
The Director of the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam said that they will also coordinate to come up with ideas and initiatives to help the Mekong region ensure water security and sustainable development./.
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