Environment ministers from Korea and Vietnam held talks in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on October 27.

During the 11th Korea-Vietnam Environment Ministers Meeting, Minister of Environment Yoon Seong Kyu had in-depth discussions with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Quang on a wide range of environmental issues, including biological diversity and the management of national parks and nature reserves. They also came up with ways to expand cooperation on environmental industries and technologies.



The two sides vowed to further enhance mutual cooperation on biodiversity conservation and on the sustainable use of biological resources. They also agreed to work together to manage national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Korea has been engaged in joint environmental cooperation projects with Vietnam for many years, including one designed to develop environmental technologies and systems suitable for the Vietnamese environment. On another project, Korea has helped fund investigations into the legitimacy and plausibility -- either technological or economical -- of environmental programs underway in Vietnam. In that regard, the two ministers agreed to further cooperate on those ongoing projects.



The two sides vowed to expand cooperation across more fields, including a joint study on cleaning up dioxin-tainted soil across Vietnam, training Vietnamese environmental officials and in the meteorological field, too.

“Boosted cooperation between Vietnam, a country that is rich in biological resources, and Korea, a country that is armed with highly-advanced technologies concerning the environment, can create great synergies that will allow the two countries to secure natural resources more effectively and to make the most of them, as a new growth engine for the economy,” said an official from the Korean Ministry of Environment.

“Thanks to this meeting, the two countries have made much progress in expanding mutual cooperation across many areas, from existing environmental projects and technological cooperation to conservation of biodiversity and biological resources.”



The Korea-Vietnam Environment Ministers Meeting, the 11th of its kind, was launched in August 2000 in Hanoi and was held every other year until 2005. It now takes place every year.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Ministry of Environment
jiae5853@korea.kr