Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The virtual and in-person meeting connected with officials from 28 centrally-run coastal cities and provinces.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Ha highlighted a need to develop a set of indicators to evaluate what constitutes a strong and sustainable maritime nation where maritime economic sectors are competitive and there are shifts in awareness and policies related to investment, finance, environment and resource allocation.

The committee was asked to urgently complete the national marine spatial planning and a master plan on the sustainable exploitation and use of coastal resources. Additionally, developing metrics for evaluating programmes, projects and tasks outlined in the strategy is crucial.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh reported positive developments since the strategy's inception five years ago. The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of coastal provinces reached 4,786 trillion VND (199.4 million USD) in 2022, or 49.8% of the country's GDP.

At present, there are 110 seaports nationwide with a total capacity of over 328.6 million tonnes. As many as 19 coastal economic zones are included in the approved master plan, attracting 553 foreign-invested projects worth 54.36 billion USD and 1,604 domestic projects valued at 1.37 quadrillion VND (57 billion USD).

Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Cuong suggested a broader and more thorough assessment of the tasks related to the establishment of a marine economic framework.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang municipal People’s Committee Ho Ky Minh admited challenges in ensuring the quality of input data for the implementation of marine economic projects that match the local potential and advantages, such as in energy and logistics sectors.