HANOI, January 21, 2015 -- Vietnam’s efforts to accelerate green growth were boosted today with the launch of a new joint project in the framework of MPI, UNDP and USAID partnership to advance Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy. At the launching ceremony of the new 4-year US$4.128 million initiative, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), Mr. Nguyen The Phuong, was joined by the UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, Ms. Pratibha Mehta and the US Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Ted Osius.

Being led by MPI, Strengthening Capacity and Institutional Reform for Green Growth and Sustainable Development in Vietnam, known as the CIGG project, is to  supports capacity building and policy development for the effective implementation of Vietnam’s national green growth strategy and achievement of sustainable development goals. Assistance will be provided at the national and provincial levels to integrate green growth and low-carbon development into sectoral and provincial Green Growth action plans.

“With the release of Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy in 2012, and the Green Growth Action Plan last year, we are amongst the pioneering countries in the region taking a leadership role in green growth. This new initiative will further our ambitions in green investment and help us to integrate new policy directions for greener growth in Vietnam into the next five year Socio-Economic Development Plan” noted Vice-Minister Nguyen The Phuong, in his opening speech.

Addressing the event, Ms. Pratibha Mehta, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam stressed that, “taking action on climate change makes good business sense. Green investment is good investment.” As she thanked USAID for its financial contribution to this important initiative, she also noted that “it will be forward-looking countries, companies, and investors that will lead the transition to greener economies and reap the most reward”.

“This project will assist Vietnam in a number of critical green growth-related areas,” said U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius. “It will strengthen the capacity for the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, and Transportation, as well as provinces to effectively implement and monitor the Vietnam Green Growth Strategy and Action Plan. The project will help develop policies for promoting investment in green growth development and improve access to green growth financing for Vietnam.” (Click here for the full remarks)

MPI will review the country’s investment policy framework and work with the Ministry of Finance to assess fiscal tools to identify gaps and potential for reforms that will accelerate Vietnam’s transition to a greener economy. Together with the Ministry of Transportation, MPI will review incentives for investment in energy-efficient transportation networks. By focusing on removing barriers to green growth, the initiative is expected to support new public-private partnerships to take advantage of new green investment opportunities.

Vietnam is among a growing number of developing countries looking to spur investment in green innovation and improve the efficiency of natural resources use, while simultaneously improving the resilience of the whole country as well as the poor and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Through this partnership with UNDP and the US Government, MPI will work with other ministries, provinces, business, research institutes and development partners to meet the implementation targets in the national Green Growth Strategy.

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