PANO - The Vietnam Seas and Islands Week 2013 will take place in Ha Tinh Province on June 7th-8th, as revealed in a press briefing in Hanoi on May 8th by the General Department of Vietnam Seas and Islands under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Photo for illustration. Source: qdnd.vn

Themed “Acting together for seas and islands of the homeland”, this national-level event will include various important programs, such as a solemn meeting in response to the World Environment Day (June 5th), and the World Ocean Day (June 8th), the fifth forum on the Vietnam Sea Trademark under the theme “Sea Sanctuary with sustainable development of seas and island resources”, and the fourth Vietnam Sea Economy Forum.

Deputy Director of the General Department of Vietnam Seas and Islands Nguyen Dang Dao stressed that the week would be a good opportunity to introduce and popularize the potential, achievements and experiences, as well as seek opportunities to develop sea and island economy of localities.

This would be also a chance to promote awareness of the role, position and importance of islands and ocean to protect the sea environment, resources and national sovereignty in the current integration trend.

Vietnam has a coastline of about 3,260 km. It owns one million square kilometers of seas, three times its landmass, with over 3,000 islands, including two archipelagos. Vietnam’s seas have a large volume of abundant and diversified natural resources. Accordingly, the Vietnam Sea Strategy by 2020 targets to turn Vietnam into a strong country on sea that could enrich itself by the sea. Moreover, by 2020, the sea economy is expected to contribute 53 to 55 per cent of GDP and 55 to 60 per cent of Vietnam’s export turnover.

Translated by Mai Huong