Joining Viet Nam In Green Growth Strategy Roll-Out

On June 8-9, 2023 in Can Tho City, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in collaboration with GIZ (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) co-organised a training on the development of subnational Green Growth action plans and integrating Green Growth into socio-economic development strategies and plans.

Green growth has become an inevitable choice and a goal that all countries are aiming for, especially for those most severely affected by climate change like Viet Nam. Green growth is a means for Viet Nam to fulfill its commitment to the global climate action. It also presents an opportunity for Viet Nam to improve its competitiveness, being able to be part of the growing global green market worth more than USD 5 trillion (according to European Commission’s estimate in 2020), which is forecast to grow faster than traditional markets, and become more attractive to investors.

To support Viet Nam seize this opportunity, on behalf of the German government, GIZ has been collaborating with MPI in the development of the National Green Growth Strategy for the period 2021 - 2030 with a vision to 2050, and the National Action Plan for 2021-2030.

However, effective roll-out and implementation of the national strategy requires a common understanding of what green growth is, and how to achieve it, among government officials at all levels. To help Viet Nam address this need, GIZ collaborates with the MPI to provide a series of training for officials in provinces across Viet Nam. The trainings support subnational-level governments fulfil their tasks in developing green growth action plans and integrating green growth into their socio-economic planning processes.

In his opening remarks at the workshop in Can Tho City, Mr. Le Viet Anh, Director of the Department of Education Science, Natural Resources and Environment at MPI emphasised: "This training will create an organic coherence in planning between national and local level. I hope that the trained participants will pass on the acquired green growth knowledge and   bring it to their local policy development and planning process."

Mr. Dennis Quennet, GIZ Director Sustainable Economic Development, remarked: “The experience that I learnt from Germany and other countries is, successful development of Green Growth needs contributions, perspectives and integration of subnational level – from regions to provinces and cities. A strong linkage between different levels is therefore very important. We need to consider the diversity of economic and social structure of regions and provinces, and identify the benefits and challenges of the transformation of the economy.”

80 participants in the training, representing 18 provinces in the Southeast and Mekong Delta regions, have been equipped with insights and tools they need to develop green growth action plans, and integrate green growth into socio-economic development process at the localities. They also acquired information and basic skills to identify potential local green growth projects to invest in, and to mobilise necessary resources to make these work.