At the bilateral meeting between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Laos, Minister Do Duc Duy and Minister Bounkham Vorachit discussed and evaluated the results of cooperation between the two ministries in the past time, and at the same time oriented the cooperation program in the coming period with initiatives and solutions on resource management, environmental protection, and climate change response for the goal of sustainable development, for the common interests of the two countries.
On October 9, on the occasion of participating in the working delegation of the Prime Minister of Viet Nam to attend the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, the delegation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam led by Party Central Committee member and Minister Do Duc Duy visited and worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Opening up new cooperation opportunities for the common interests of the two countries and peoples
Minister Bounkham Vorachit affirmed that Viet Nam and Laos are two neighboring countries with traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, and this relationship is the foundation for cooperation between the two ministries.
Minister Do Duc Duy sincerely thanked the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the welcome. On this occasion, the Minister also thanked Minister Bounkham Vorachit for his concern, visit and encouragement after Typhoon Yagi caused serious damage to many localities in Viet Nam.
Minister Do Duc Duy said that when he was Secretary and Chairman of Yen Bai province, he had the opportunity to meet and work with leaders of Vientiane province and Xay Nha Bu Ly province to exchange and share experiences in cooperation and development with Yen Bai province, thereby contributing to deepening the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the Party, State and people of the two countries.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy at the meeting
At the meeting, Minister Do Duc Duy and Minister Bounkham Vorachit discussed and assessed the cooperation results between the two ministries in the past time, and discussed cooperation orientations in the coming period, ensuring that they are suitable to the global and regional contexts and specific conditions of each country.
The two ministers agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) after the bilateral meeting between the two sides and expected that the signing of the MOU would contribute to strengthening comprehensive cooperation between the two ministries. At the same time, it would open up new cooperation opportunities with specific initiatives and solutions on resource management, environmental protection, and climate change response for the goal of sustainable development, for the common interests of the two States and peoples.
With a spirit of cooperation and high determination, Minister Do Duc Duy and Minister Bounkham Vorachit believe that the two sides will achieve good results.
Lao Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bounkham Vorachit at the meeting
Cooperate to implement 07 task groups in the field of Natural Resources and Environment
At the meeting, leaders of the two sides reviewed some outstanding cooperation contents in the past time and proposed to the two Ministers cooperation directions in each field.
Regarding water resources, the two Ministers proposed that in the coming time, the two Ministries will continue to strengthen cooperation and exchange experiences in: comprehensive management, protection, and sustainable development of water resources; human resource training; scientific research; sharing operational data on cross-border water exploitation and use projects; preventing, combating, and overcoming natural disasters caused by water, in order to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of water resources in cross-border river basins.
Regarding Mekong River Commission cooperation, the two Mekong River Commissions of Viet Nam and Laos have closely coordinated with other member countries of the Mekong River Commission to carry out consultation tasks, implement commitments, coordinate monitoring of the actual impacts of hydropower projects as well as discuss at forums of the Mekong River Commission and other relevant Mekong cooperation mechanisms.
The two Ministers agreed to sign the MOU after the bilateral meeting between the two sides and expected that the signing of the MOU would contribute to enhancing comprehensive cooperation between the two Ministries.
Regarding environment and biodiversity, in the coming time, the two Ministries will study cooperation mechanisms suitable for both sides to promote activities in the environmental field in a more practical and effective manner. Viet Nam is willing to share experiences in building institutions for solid waste management, domestic waste, the National Action Partnership Program on plastics, etc.
In the field of biodiversity conservation, Viet Nam and Laos are two countries with rich biodiversity resources. The two Ministers proposed that the two sides continue to cooperate, enhance capacity, build policy institutions; cooperate in conservation and sustainable use of wetlands in the Mekong River basin. Strengthen cooperation in nature conservation and biodiversity for nature reserves adjacent to the border of the two countries, especially the conservation of endangered, rare and migratory species. Cooperate and share experiences in implementing the goals of the Kunming - Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Regarding climate change, Minister Do Duc Duy and Minister Bounkham Vorachit suggested further strengthening cooperation between the two ministries, continuing to exchange information, closely coordinating and supporting each other in regional and international cooperation mechanisms and frameworks, especially within the framework of ASEAN and United Nations cooperation on climate change; exchanging and sharing experiences, and cooperating in adapting to climate change; reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing a fair energy transition, and moving towards net zero emissions.
Regarding hydrometeorology, the two Ministers will direct the hydrometeorological agencies of the two countries to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding Implementation Plan, focusing on exchanging and sharing surface hydrometeorological monitoring data, weather radar, lightning positioning data and surface monitoring station data, to support weather forecasting and disaster warning at the national and provincial levels; sharing information on dangerous weather forecasts and disaster warnings before and during disasters to minimize human and property damage...
Regarding land management, the two sides initially exchanged information and experience in policy making since 2019 during the consultation process on the draft amendment to the Land Law of the Lao National Assembly.
Minister Bounkham Vorachit hopes that Viet Nam will send expert delegations from the Ministry to work with specialized units of the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to discuss more detailed plans as well as exchange experiences in land management between the two countries.
Regarding training, Viet Nam currently has three training units in the field of natural resources and environment and has recently trained 02 Lao students under the scholarship agreement between the two countries.
The two Ministers proposed to coordinate in developing proposals for short-term and long-term training programs and work with the Viet Namese Ministry of Education and Training and the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports through the Protocol on training cooperation between the two governments.
Minister Bounkham Vorachit highly appreciated the results of this meeting, thereby creating a foundation for the units of the two ministries to implement cooperation activities in the coming time in a practical and effective manner, in accordance with the international and regional context, specific conditions and priorities of the two countries on sustainable development.
Minister Do Duc Duy believes that, with the spirit of cooperation and high determination, the two sides will continue to achieve good results, contributing to the sustainable development of both Viet Nam and Laos. Today's meeting is not only an opportunity for the two sides to exchange and learn, but also an opportunity to further strengthen the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties, States and People of the two countries.