From October 20 to October 25, a delegation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, led by Mr. Nguyen Duc Toan, Director General of the Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands, is visiting Japan.
As part of the visit, the Viet Nam-Japan Marine Economic Policy Dialogue Forum 2024 took place on the morning of October 21 in Tokyo. This forum is essential for implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in marine and ocean policy between Viet Nam's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Japan's Cabinet Office, signed on October 8, 2018.
This year's forum was co-chaired by Mr. Nguyen Duc Toan, Director General of the Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands, and Takasugi Norihiro, Secretary-General of the Ocean Policy Secretariat of Japan's Cabinet Office. It served as an opportunity for Viet Nam and Japan to reaffirm their comprehensive strategic partnership, exchange information, propose solutions to current issues, and effectively promote further cooperation activities. This collaboration aims to incorporate Japan's policies, technologies, and solutions into Viet Nam's development.
Director General Nguyen Duc Toan (middle) and the Vietnamese delegation attending the Forum.
In his opening remarks, Director General Nguyen Duc Toan emphasized that "reaching out to the sea" has become a significant trend and a crucial direction for all coastal nations. Sharing Japan's experiences in marine policies and strategies is of significant theoretical and practical importance to Viet Nam.
At the forum, both sides agreed that Japan's experiences in managing coastal resources, protecting the coastal environment, addressing ocean plastic waste, preventing oil spills, assessing offshore wind energy potential and marine zone rights, and conducting coastal and deep-sea environmental investigations provide valuable insights for Viet Nam's marine and island management.
Following the forum, the delegation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will visit the Maritime Disaster Prevention Center of the Japan Coast Guard in Yokohama, the Kanagawa plastic waste treatment facility, conduct a field survey at an offshore wind farm in Kanagawa and engage with the Clean Energy Group at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) to explore new technologies and learn about Japan's management methods and experiences in these areas.