Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of NaturalResources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh has asked the Republic of Korea (RoK)’sMinister of Environment Han Whajin to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam inthe field of environment for sustainable development and the improvement ofenvironment quality for the present and future generations.

During his talks with Han in Hanoi on November 1, Khanh hailed the RoK’s green ODA programme, adding it will be a great help for Vietnam in implementing its net-zero emissioncommitment by 2050.

He also asked for support from the RoK, the hostof the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in2021, in organising the P4G Summit in Vietnam in 2025.

Regarding the extended producer responsibility (EPR), theminister said he hopes the RoK Ministry of Environment will continue to assistVietnam in completing and implementing EPR regulations, including providing EPRimplementation consultations, supporting the building and management of EPRimplementation monitoring database, and sharing experience in EPR realisation.

For issues related to circular economy, Khanh proposedthat the RoK support Vietnam in building and issuing guidance on theapplication of Best Available Techniques (BAT), reviewing, updating andsupplementing the BAT list to ensure compatibility with reality and the levelof development of science and technology in Vietnam, and guiding the applicationof BAT in particular type of production, business, and service with a risk ofcausing environmental pollution.

For her part, Han underlined the significance of this year’s talks after fiveyears of disruption due to COVID-19 impacts.

Noting that the RoK has announced the goal of becomingcarbon neutral by 2050 and setting the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018, whileVietnam is also making efforts to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by2050, Han expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to makejoint efforts on many fronts to cut carbon emissions through expandingcooperation in global emissions reduction projects.

She said she hopes that Vietnam will have greater attention andstronger coordination on projects in waste-to-energy and, biofuel convertingareas.

The RoK will provide Vietnam with assistance in experts,technology and experience so that both sides can implement international commitmentsin the fields of environmental protection and climate change response towardssustainable development together.

At the talks, the two ministers signed a memorandum ofunderstanding on comprehensive cooperation in the field of environment betweenthe two ministries, which is expected to become a new motivation for the growthof collaboration between the two ministries in particular and the comprehensivestrategic partnership between the two countries in general./.