Seminar “Sustainable planning and developmen of urban areas”

The Central Economic Commission (CEC) of Vietnam, the Ministry of Construction in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), have jointly organized the first seminar amongst its series of national-level seminars on strengthening the resilience and recovery capacity of Vietnam urban areas from the impacts of climate change, on March 7^th. This seminar is organized under the framework of  the Water and Natural Resources Management Fund (WARM Facility) funded by the European Union.

There were Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van; Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Duc Hien; Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti; Ambassador of the Republic of France to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery; Vietnamese experts and experts from the Lyon Urban Management Authority, France at the seminar.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van spoke at the Seminar

Currently, the process of urbanization in Vietnam is taking place rapidly and strongly, the urban appearance is changing day by day, along with the increasing quality of life and urban economy. However, the urbanisation process still has many limitations, such as rapid development but lacking an overall sustainable strategy and green growth and lack of vision.  

Regarding the urban development, the Resolution 06-NQ/TW of the Politburo on sustainable urban planning, construction, management and development has oriented urban development planning towards sustainable goals. The Resolution has set out 5 points of view, 6 main groups of tasks and solutions, affirming the role and position of cities and urbanization in the process of industrialization and modernization of the country in the new period, laying the foundation for the transformation and urban development of Vietnam to be more comprehensive, systematic and unified.

“One of the main tasks of the construction industry for the next coming years is to efficiently implement the Resolution 148/NQ-CP on the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution 06. This resolution is expected to make an important change in quantity and quality of urban planning. Having a permanent role in international cooperation in the field of urban development, the Ministry of Construction actively participates in activities at international level, including with France and other countries of the European Union. This seminar is one example of such international cooperation”, said by Mr Nguyen Tuong Van, Deputy Minister of Construction.

Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Duc Hien spoke at the seminar

Emphasizing the important significance of Resolution 06-NQ/TW, Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Duc Hien said that Resolution 06 has determined the orientation of developing a sustainable urban system according to the network and distribution reasonable, suitable to each region; development urban areas toward green, smart, climate change adaptation and preventing and combating natural disasters and epidemics; ensuring high connectivity between urban areas; focusing on building and effectively implementing national projects and programs on urban development in Vietnam to respond to climate change.

Speaking at the seminar, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti emphasized: "The European Union always strongly commits to supporting the Vietnamese Government in achieving sustainable development goals. That is why we are building the WARM fund to sponsor the preparation and implementation of strategic infrastructure investment projects to enhance Việt Nam's capacity to adapt to climate change. The practical experience gained from these projects contributes to promoting policy dialogue with the Vietnamese Government."

Attending the seminar, French Ambassador Nicolas Warnery highlighted the 20-year history of cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Lyon, France in urban planning and management. France is always ready to enhance its support to the Government of Việt Namin activities aimed at reducing and adapting to climate change," said Mr Nicolas Warnery. He also believed that the experience of French experts from Lyon would contribute to shedding light on the issues raised in the climate change adaptation strategy that the provinces and cities of Vietnam are currently facing.

Delegates took a photo at the seminar

At the seminar, delegates exchanged solutions to help Việt Nam transition from centralized planning to strategic planning, determine the appropriate management models and planning scale, control land conversion from rural to urban areas, and conserve natural resources.

The whole seminar

Following this first seminar held in Hà Nội, three other seminars will be organised in the provinces of Sơn La, Quảng Trị and Hậu Giang on disaster risk management and climate change that people in three regions, including mountainous, coastal, and the Mekong Delta, are facing.