Chairman of the Can Tho City People’s Committee Tran Viet Truong gives a present to Giorgio Aliberti, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam. (Photo: TDO)
So said Chairman of the Can Tho City People’s Committee Tran Viet Truong during his reception for Giorgio Aliberti, Ambassador and Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Vietnam, as well as EU member countries’ ambassador to Vietnam, on March 22.
According to Mr. Truong, last year, the export turnover of goods to the European market was USD125.92 million, with the main export items being rice, seafood, agricultural products and processed agricultural products, garments, pharmaceuticals, veterinary drugs and handicrafts; and import turnover of USD14.45 million, with the main imported items being pharmaceutical raw materials, agricultural drugs, veterinary drugs and fabrics.
For some other EU countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Norway, the city has also implemented many practical activities in such fields as health, education, agriculture and environment. Particularly in the field of environment, the city currently has the project "Can Tho river embankment - Climate change response in Can Tho City” funded by ODA from the French Government.
There are also Dutch NGO projects, including the project "Automated collection of floating garbage in the river in Can Tho City"; the project "WaterWorX towards climate change adaptive water supply in the Southwest region of the Mekong Delta"; and the program “Blue Dragon Vietnam - Capacity building for water resources management in the Mekong Delta (Phase 1) in Can Tho City”.
Regarding the direction for cooperation in the coming time, the Chairman of the City People's Committee hoped Mr. Giorgio Aliberti and the ambassadors of EU member countries would support the connection of Can Tho City to implement the contents signed with the localities in the near future; and promote the potential, investment opportunities and image of Can Tho City to associations and investors in EUcountries.
He also expressed his hope that the ambassador would create conditions for investors to understand more about the investment environment, policies to attract foreign investment and investment potential of each country, to increase the possibility of investment and business cooperation between enterprises; and strengthen cooperation in technology transfer, ownership and development from the EU to Vietnam, especially in priority areas of the city such as information and communication, industry, agriculture, construction, transportation, healthcare, natural resources and environment.
Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti highly appreciated the potential and development opportunities of Can Tho city in the development strategy of the Mekong Delta region. According to Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, Can Tho and all localities in the Mekong Delta region are facing many challenges due to climate change; therefore, it is necessary to have stronger cooperation with related parties to overcome and recover sustainably in the coming time.
He said he hoped that in the coming time, the two sides will continue to promote development cooperation in various fields, especially in the fields of industry, clean energy, infrastructure and transportation, confirming that he will continue to act as a bridge to promote the most practical exchanges and cooperation between EU countries and Can Tho, especially in the field of climate change adaptation./.