Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the 6th GEF Assembly

The PM made the statement in his speech delivered at the opening session of the 6th GEF Assembly, held in the central city of Da Nang on Wednesday. The Government leader noted that the GEF has made important contributions to the resolving global climate change and environmental challenges, especially in developing countries such as Vietnam. The Prime Minister said: “As a developing country, Vietnam has encountered many problems in environmental degradation and climate change. Despite many difficulties faced with the resources at hand, the Vietnamese Government has added environmental protection and climate change response into the country’s socio-economic development plans, while utilising creativity and any available resources, in addition to efforts produced from the whole society, for the work. Vietnam will not exchange it’s environment for economic development, as this directly affects sustainable development.”

Vietnam is focusing on implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030) and its commitments at COP-21 on climate change. The PM praised the effective cooperation and the important role the GEF plays, while pledging to work with the GEF in implementing the regional project for a plastic waste-free ocean.