Seminar to promote regional coordination in Mekong River Delta

A seminar, aiming to promote regional coordination in Mekong Delta, took place in Hanoi on December 19.

Seminar to promote regional coordination in Mekong River Delta

The event was organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the World Bank and the Australian Embassy.

Addressing the event, Ousmane Dione, Director of the World Bank in Vietnam, said that regional development in the Mekong River Delta is at “an important juncture”. He urged the Government of Vietnam and its development partners to ensure an integrated interregional approach when introducing investment plans, programmes and projects, and share information to support sustainable growth.

Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Van Hieu, suggested that the delegates focus on five contents: the results of the implementation of Decision 593 / QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on zoning; reviewing international experiences, thereby screening measures and options that may be appropriate to the circumstances and specific conditions of the region; discussing and commenting on models proposed in the report to strengthen regional coordination and linkages in the coming period; the role of related partners in developing and applying feasible models; discussing a realistic road map that is appropriate for the context of Vietnam and the Mekong River Delta to develop and improve the regional coordination and coordination model; and the direction of policy mechanisms and resources for implementation.

The Mekong River Delta is severely affected by climate change which in turn affects the production of agricultural, forestry and fishery products as well as people's livelihoods and the socio-economic development of the region. Existing consequences such as droughts, saline intrusion, and coastal erosion occur on a large scale and have become severely unprecedented in the provinces of the Mekong Delta.