The
meeting between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and
the World Bank on July 10. Photo: Thanh Thuy.
On July 10, MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan meets with the World Bank (WB) Delegation led by the Director of Sustainable Development for East Asia - Pacific, Ms. Anna Wellenstein.
At the meeting, leaders of MARD and the WB exchange information and discuss several key topics, update the progress of six main areas of cooperation between the two sides, and detail the possibility of further expansion in the future.
The Mekong Delta Integrated Transformation and Adaptation to Climate Change (MERIT) is the project with the greatest impact on sustainable development, aiming to build water infrastructure for the Mekong Delta. However, Ms. Anna Wellenstein was concerned about the delay in the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s consultation process with local authorities.
Updating the project’s progress, Minister Le Minh Hoan states that this issue was brought up in a recent meeting with the Mekong Delta. In the coming period, MARD expects to work closely with the WB and local authorities to ensure inter-regional leadership to ensure sustainable development.
Director
of Sustainable Development for East Asia - Pacific,
Ms. Anna Wellenstein commands MARD’s efforts in recent years. Photo: Linh Linh.
Regarding the Emission Reduction Payment Agreement for the North Central Region (ERPA), Ms. Anna Wellenstein highly commands MARD’s achievements in monitoring and reducing emissions as well as the Vietnamese people’s responsibility to protect forests. She announced that once there is an official Emission Reduction result verification report, Vietnam will receive a total of 41.2 million USD, marking the largest amount disbursed under the EAP Carbon Fund.
Minister Le Minh Hoan ensures to complete the Project Operation Manual shortly. At the same time, MARD leaders guarantee that there are sufficient mechanisms and budget sources to fairly and transparently implement the ERPA’s Benefit Sharing Plan.
As for MARD’s new project on 1 million hectares of low-emission and high-quality rice, which is built upon the success of VnSAT – the award-winning project in East Asia - Pacific region this fiscal year 2023, Minister Le Minh Hoan acknowledges the support from the WB and is ready to promote dialogue between MARD and the WB to call for attention of other ministries, sectors, businesses, and farmers.