Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Italy’s Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in Hanoi on June 5.

The pact aims to lay a basis for technical cooperation in environmental management and protection between the two ministries.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh lauded the Italian ministry’s performance in environmental management and protection as well as the results of bilateral cooperation in this sphere.

He said his ministry wants to collaborate with and learn from Italian experience in response to climate change.

Thanh asked the Italian side to continue assisting Vietnam in running a project on improving flood forecasting and warning system in the south central region and in building legal documents to implement the law on hydro-meteorology.

The official said Vietnam also needs Italian support to complete a draft project on upgrading the assessment and monitoring system for water management in the Ba and Hong river basins.

Thanh suggested Italy consider helping Vietnam build policies to assess climate change impacts and increase capacity in using the geographic information technology.

Francesco La Camera, Director General for Sustainable Development, Energy and Climate at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, said Italy is willing to cooperate with Vietnam in climate change response, waste management and hydro-meteorology.

Apart from expert assistance, Italy will work with Vietnam to build projects suitable to local conditions and facilitate the participation of Italian businesses in bilateral cooperative ties, he noted.

VNA/VNP