Climate change response is a priority for Viet Nam - New Zealand cooperation

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh expressed his pleasure in welcoming the new Ambassador of New Zealand to Viet Nam, along with officials working in the field of climate change from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Embassy in Viet Nam. The Deputy Minister highly appreciated the potential for cooperation between the two sides in the field of climate change, as well as other areas of natural resources and environment, towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Discussing the cooperation between the two sides, Ms. Caroline Beresfort, New Zealand's Ambassador to Viet Nam, affirmed that New Zealand and Viet Nam have a long-standing and extensive cooperative relationship across many fields. Recently, this relationship has been elevated to a new level, especially after Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited New Zealand last March, and the two sides have had many high-level exchanges. 2025 will be a special occasion marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, with the desire that the two countries will elevate their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. In this context, New Zealand wishes to work with Viet Nam to identify and select priority areas for cooperation, with climate change response being considered a highlight.

Elaborating on this, Ms. Anna Broadthurst, Lead Adviser on Climate Change at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that New Zealand has issued a new Climate Change Strategy. In this strategy, New Zealand sets out five main pillars. First, upgrade infrastructure to adapt and strengthen community resilience to climate change. Second, upgrade the carbon market and energy market to achieve net zero. Third, develop clean energy to ensure that people have access to clean energy at affordable prices. Fourth, promote innovation in science and technology to accelerate the process of achieving net zero. Fifth, implement nature-based solutions, as New Zealand has an economy dependent on agriculture. Ms. Anna Broadthurst said that these five pillars of New Zealand have many similarities with Viet Nam.

Agreeing with Ms. Anna Broadthurst, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh emphasized that Viet Nam and New Zealand are both countries with long coastlines and are therefore subject to many negative impacts of climate change. This situation requires each country to develop both short-term and long-term plans for adaptation. In Viet Nam, natural disasters such as storms, floods, droughts and saltwater intrusion are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. The Vietnamese Government is very interested in building sustainable infrastructure, focusing on building communities that are more resilient to climate change. Viet Nam is developing low-carbon agriculture. Besides, Viet Nam is also developing a project to establish a carbon credit market and pilot its operation in 2025. The Deputy Minister asked New Zealand to share its experience in this field with Viet Nam.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh and Ms. Caroline Beresfort, New Zealand Ambassador to Viet Nam, agreed that the Viet Nam MONRE and the New Zealand Ministry for Climate Change will sign a Cooperation Agreement on Climate Change. This will be one of the main documents to be signed in 2025 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, expected to be signed under the witness of high-ranking leaders of the two countries during a high-level visit in Viet Nam or New Zealand. In addition, the two sides will have cooperative activities on the sidelines of the upcoming 29th session of the Conferences of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).