Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung receives European Commissioner for Environment Karmenu Vella.
|
The Deputy PM emphasised the Vietnamese government’s commitment and resolve to eradicate the illegal wildlife trade, which is reflected in the Prime Minister’s issuance of a directive on urgent measures to intensify the fight against such crimes.
Deputy PM Dung affirmed that Vietnam has been actively implementing commitments reached at the 21 st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) in Paris.
He also hailed the conclusion of negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA/FLEGT) between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), which was announced by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and the European Commissioner for Environment earlier in the day.
The Deputy PM expressed his wish that the Commissioner will encourage programmes on assisting Vietnam in line with the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, as well as in assisting Vietnam build an open and transparent system for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
For his part, Commissioner Karmenu Vella highlighted that the EU and Vietnam have achieved many positive results in the recent years in their cooperation on fighting the illegal trade of wildlife and forest products.
He expressed wish that Vietnam and the EU will expand cooperation in various fields, at both business and people-to-people level.
Vella stressed that the EU pledges to assist Vietnam in climate change response, marine environment protection, and the development of green marine-based economy.
