Sweden decides to keep HN embassy

Swedish embassy in Hanoi. (Source: Internet)

Spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga made the statement yesterday, Aug 4, while answering reporters' questions on the Swedish Government's reversal of the plan to close its Ha Noi embassy.

"Viet Nam always advocates enhancing and deepening its traditional friendly and co-operative relations with Sweden, which have been upheld by generations of past leaders and citizens," Nga said.

US confirms new ambassador

The US Senate on Wednesday appointed David Shear as the new ambassador to Viet Nam after several months of delay, according to AFP. President Barack Obama appointed Shear, who has 30 years of experience in the foreign service, as the US ambassador to Viet Nam last December. Shear has previously served as the deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Greater Mekong ministers meet

The 17th Ministerial Conference of six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries began yesterday, Aug 4, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The conference aimed to finalise the new GMS Strategic Framework for 2012-22, before submitting it for their leaders endorsement at the fourth GMS summit in Myanmar this December.

In its third decade of implementation, the GMS strategic framework would continue its focus on physical infrastructure investments and expand economic development activities. Organisers plan to solicit the participation of the private sector to address the issues of the GMS programme, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said at the opening session of the conference.

"We have achieved great success in the last two decades of co-operation, but much work remains to ensure that we are advancing the GMS economic co-operation program towards its full potential," he said.

The GMS programme was established in 1992 with the support of the Asian Development Bank. It has nine priority sectors of co-operation: agriculture, energy, environment, human resource development, investment, telecommunications, tourism, transport infrastructure, and transport and trade facilitation.

Over the last two phases, the GMS programme has contributed to eradicating hunger and poverty, in addition to boosting socio-economic development in the region.

The GMS group includes China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Finland pledges aid for climate change

The Finnish Embassy in Ha Noi has earmarked 160,600 euros (US$230,000) to help non-governmental organisations based in the south tackle climate-change challenges in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region.

It signed an agreement in HCM City yesterday, Aug 4, with the Centre for Cooperation Human Resource Development (C&D), a Vietnamese NGO, that has drawn up a two-year programme to strengthen southern NGOs.

The programme will enable them to support local communities in the provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh to respond to climate change challenges and pursue inclusive and sustainable development initiatives.

"Building capacity for Vietnamese civil society organisations and assisting localities, including the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta which is identified as one of the regions most affected, in adapting to climate change are our focus," Pekka Hyvunen, the Finnish ambassador, said. He identified the two provinces as the most vulnerable to climate change.

The project would not only provide southern NGOs opportunities to strengthen their institutional capacity and participate in a network that raises common voices, but also enable them to work with communities vulnerable to climate change, he added.

Phan Van Ngoc, executive director of the Centre for Community Capacity Building on Environmental Protection, said: "Roles of local government agencies and civil society organisations are essential as they are most directly aware of and involved in day-to-day issues at the local level.

"We should strengthen civil society organisations as there is very little pro-active engagement of civil society organisations in climate change adaptation in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta."