The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in Vietnam held a national dialogue in Hanoi on October 7th, with the aim of developing programmes and activities for the 2014-2018 period that marks the GEF’s 6th cycle (GEF-6).

Tran Hong Ha, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria KwaKwa, the World Bank’s Country Director for Vietnam, and William Ehlers, Head of External Affairs at the GEF, hosted the dialogue.

Mangrove forests of Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh province.

Vietnamese and foreign experts from relevant agencies, organisations and institutions focused on the GEF-6 targets and programmes and identified Vietnam’s priorities for the four-year period.

These priorities include boosting the country’s coordination of GEF operations, exchanging lessons learned from project implementation, and integrating GEF efforts into national planning frameworks.

According to the World Bank’s Country Director Victoria KwaKwa, Vietnam is the first nation to host a national dialogue on GEF-6.

The World Bank and the GEF will continue to support Vietnam, especially in the field of environmental strategy and policy, to strengthen its position at global environment forums, she added.

The GEF has invested a total of 130 million USD in 51 national and 42 regional projects.

It has enabled the country to tackle numerous environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, climate change and water pollution.

The GEF is a partnership for international cooperation, with 183 countries collaborating with international institutions, social organisations and the private sector, in an effort to address global environmental issues.

Source: VNA