Posted on 20 September 2023

New York, September 20, 2023, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development - Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hiep and WWF International’s General Director - Ms. Kirsten Schuijt and President cum CEO of WWF-US - Mr. Carter Roberts met today to strengthen their cooperation. The meeting was held at Viet Nam’s Permanent Mission in the UN complex, during the week of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78).

Speaking in the meeting, the Deputy Minister highly appreciated the long-term cooperation between the Ministry and WWF in various areas including biodiversity, species and protected areas conservation, and combating illegal wildlife trade, towards the common goal of sustainable development. Collaborative projects between the two sides have brought many positive and concrete impacts to nature and local communities, especially in the Central Annamite landscape.

Currently, WWF and the Ministry are jointly developing a program "Viet Nam for Life: Nature-based Solutions in the Central". Accordingly, WWF and the Ministry will join forces to mobilise resources, through developing proposals, calling for funding, and implementing projects to preserve Viet Nam's biodiversity, while ensuring benefits for local communities. Both sides hope this strategic cooperation will be signed in the near future.

During this Biodiversity Decade, Viet Nam has made important international commitments such as Net Zero, JETP, GBF, BBNJ or actively participated in negotiating the Global Agreement on Plastic Pollution and the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The Deputy Minister emphasised that, in this context, Viet Nam really needs the support of the international community, organisations like WWF, to implement these commitments.

Responding to the Deputy Minister's sharing, Mr. Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US said: Viet Nam has always been one of WWF's priority countries. Currently, WWF is coordinating with the Ministry to implement two major projects in Viet Nam on species and biodiversity conservation, funded by the US Agency for International Development. WWF-US also selected the Central Annamites Landscape as one of five landscapes in the world to  apply the Nature-Based Solutions program. Cooperation with the Ministry is of great significance to WWF, not only because of Viet Nam's importance on the biodiversity world map but also because of the solutions that the two sides are developing and implementing together.

Following Mr. Roberts' words, Ms. Kirsten Schuijt, General Director of WWF International, said that Viet Nam was one of the first three countries she visited after taking her current position. She has spent a lot of time researching and working with the community in Central Annamites on forest conservation since the first days of joining the organisation. She emphasised that Viet Nam is a country that could be an inspiring model for other countries to follow. WWF is honoured, proud and committed to support the Government of Viet Nam in efforts to achieve national and global sustainable development goals.