Hanoi (VNA) –  French Ambassador to Vietnam OlivierBrochet affirmed his country's support for Vietnam in climate change response while meeting with Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh in Hanoi on January 29.

Brochet spoke highly of the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment (MoNRE)’s advisory role in the Vietnamese Government and PrimeMinister’s strong commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, thelaunch of the resource mobilisation plan for implementing the Just EnergyTransition Partnership (JETP), and efforts in climate change mitigation andadaptation.

He noted that the French Government pledged toassist Vietnam to reach those targets so as to concurrently resolve the globalissue of climate change adaptation and not hamper policies of developingcountries, including Vietnam.

Via the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Government is providing over 500million EUR (541.4 million USD) in aid to help Vietnam carry out climate changeadaptation, biodiversity conservation, and marine pollution preventionprojects.

At the meeting, AFD Director Herve Conan said apart from existing cooperation programmes, the FrenchGovernment hopes to expand partnerships with its Vietnamese counterpart,including MoNRE, in the implementation of the JETP resource mobilisation plan,the building of financial instruments of the carbon market, biodiversityconservation, and ocean protection.

Minister Khanh affirmed that the French Government and AFD are always important partners of Vietnam in terms of environmental protection and climatechange response.

The Vietnamese Government has not only made commitments butalso been implementing action plans in line with the committed roadmap towardsthe targets of sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and nationalsecurity ensuring, he stated.

He emphasised that with the viewpoint of not pursuingeconomic growth at the expense of the environment but boosting socioeconomicdevelopment in tandem with environmental protection and climate changeadaptation, the laws recently adopted by the National Assembly such as the revised Land Law and the revisedLaw on Water Resources demonstrate the Vietnamese Government’s strong resolve to conservebiodiversity and recover natural ecosystems.

Todo so, the country needs assistance from the international community, includingthe Government of France, Khanh said, calling on the French Governmentto help Vietnam in this regard by training manpower, transferring scientificand technological advances, and giving technical and financial support./.