Vietnam Administration of Forestry Director Tran Quang Bao and Director of Japan’s Forestry Agency Aoyama Toyohisa.

At the signing ceremony on May 14 in Tokyo, VAF Director Tran Quang Bao spoke highly of Japanese cooperation and support for Vietnam in forestry over recent years.

Specifically, Japan helped Vietnam formulate the 2017 Forestry Law and the decrees and circulars guiding its implementation.

Through its official development assistance programmes, Japan supported Vietnam to enhance sustainable forest management, enhance forest-based livelihoods for the community, protect biodiversity and cope with climate change in forestry.

Most of Japan’s programmes and projects implemented in Vietnam have been assessed to be effective, contributing to the success of Vietnam’s forestry sector in recent years.

Despite having recorded important results, Bao noted that the two sides must further step up cooperation to promote both countries’ potential and strengths.

For his part, Director General of Japan’s Forestry Agency Aoyama Toyohisa spoke highly of Vietnam’s close coordination during the cooperation process, which has resulted in important achievements.

He asked both sides to work together to build a plan to effectively implement eight cooperation activities outlined in the memorandum of understanding, including sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, effective management and use of forest resources, and forest biodiversity conservation.