Vietnam, Sweden talk climate change, sustainable development

Hanoi (VNA) - Sweden has set to prioritise environment and climate change issues in
its 2009-13 cooperation with Vietnam, Swedish officials said at a seminar on
"sustainable development and climate change" in Hanoi on Mar. 18.

Representatives from the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam and the Swedish
International Development Agency (SIDA), which co-organised the seminar, said they
are willing to assist and facilitate cooperation between Swedish and Vietnamese
partners in carrying out projects in the field.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Bich Dat affirmed that the
Vietnamese Government has defined that sustainable development is a cause of the
people and for the people.

The sustainable development goals the country is striving to achieve include a
quality growth and comprehensive social development, reduced poverty, improved
living conditions and well-protected environment, Dat said.

However, to achieve those goals requires the Vietnamese government to put elements
of sustainable development into its socio-economic development strategies and plans
and strictly monitor the implementation of those works.

He hailed the international community and in particular Sweden for their
significant assistance in terms of funding and experiences to Vietnam in the course
of developing and implementing sustainable development orientations, and hoped to
continue receiving supports from countries and organisations with much experience on
environmental protection.

In the seminar, which was as part of celebrations of the 40 th year of
Vietnam-Sweden cooperation, participants assessed the implementation of
Swedish-financed programmes on environmental protection and climate change in
Vietnam and discussing ways to improve it in the future.-Enditem