Sweden Finances Vietnam's Environmentally Sustainable Development

3:26:23 PM | 7/8/2005

A specific agreement on the Swedish financial support worth 25 million SEK for a Programme for Environmentally Sustainable Development in Vietnam was signed by the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi and Ministry of Planning and Investment on November 12 in Hanoi.

The programme will assist Vietnam in ensuring sustainable development by protecting the environment for the next generations and counter poverty. It will also contribute to the implementation of the "Strategic Orientation for Sustainable Development in Vietnam" (Vietnam Agenda 21), which was approved by the Prime Minister in August 2004.

The programme will work at both the national and local administrative levels to encourage pro-environmental decisions. It will raise public awareness on environmental protection, increase local involvement in the planning and implementation of various projects for improved natural resources and environmental management as well as their competence for environmental monitoring. The Ministry of Planning and Investment will co-ordinate the implementation of the programme, in cooperation with the partners of UNDP and the IUCN in Vietnam.