New Strategic Partnership between Germany and Vietnam

On the occasion of the 10 year anniversary of official relations between the Ministry for Resource Protection and Environment (MONRE) of Vietnam and the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMUB), both sides reinforced their commitment to further enhance their cooperation. Secretary of State Adler of the BMUB emphasized the interest of Germany to expand the strategic partnership with Vietnam also to the topic of environmental protection. The strategic partnership has been in existence since 2011.UfU has been actively involved in the relationship between MONRE and the BMUB since 2004.

Between the 15^th and the 22^nd of October, UfU organized three workshops on the topics of “Standard Setting in Soil Protection, “Industrial Watermanagement”, which served at the same time as the “2^nd German-Vietnamese Water Forum”, as well as a colloquium for the presentation of new environmental projects in Vietnam with the participation of the UfU and the GIZ. The one-week session brought 250 persons from state agencies, NGOs, scientific institutes and ministries together. In the years to come, UfU is still going to play an important role in environmental protection in Vietnam. For instance, in the context of the session it was announced that UfU shall from 2015 onwards implement a project on energy crops in contaminated areas of Vietnam, which will form part of the international climate initiative.

At the colloquium, eight persons received honors for their outstanding contribution to the cooperation with Vietnam in environmental protection in the last 10 years. Secretary of State Gunther Adler honored among others Dr. Pham Ngoc Han as well as Dr. Michael Zschiesche, both from UfU, for their great achievements in the field of environmental protection for the German-Vietnamese partnership. He emphasized that exceptional relations can only be realized through exceptional commitment. According to the Secretary of State, the two UfU-members have been pioneers in that regard, which deserved his special thanks.

In the context of the one-week gathering of the Vietnamese and German institutions, it was again underscored that in 2015 an appropriate agreement for a new strategic partnership in environmental protection shall be prepared. The agreement shall be signed during a visit of the Vietnamese Environmental Minister in Germany. UfU will actively contribute to this occasion.

The UfU employee Dr. Ngoc Han Pham (2nd left) received honours for his outstanding contribution to the cooperation with Vietnam in environmental protection in the last 10 years, with the German secratary of state Gunther Adler (left), the German ambassador in Vietnam Jutta Frasch (2nd right) and the Vietnamese Deputy Environmental Minister Bui Catch Tuyen (right)