The delegation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment led by Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh worked with leaders of Cuba's National Water Resources Agency. (Photo: VNA)

The visit aimed to boost cooperation in hydrometeorology, environment and circular economy between the two countries.

Thanh said the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in environment protection and climate change response that the Vietnamese Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoNRE) and the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) signed in March 2018.

He suggested the two ministries should actively exchange to develop specific plans relevant to the new situation.

The deputy minister asked for CITMA’s support in the implementation of scientific and technological tasks under a protocol on studying current state of surface water and saline intrusion forecast in the Cauto River basin as a basis for recommending solutions for rice production expansion and water supply improvement.

The protocol is a cooperation programme between the MoNRE’s Water Resources Institute (WRI) and the CITMA’s National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) within the framework of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-governmental Committee in economic and science-technology cooperation. The implementation of the programme is on track and will go on until January 2024, he informed.

For her part, Deputy Minister Adianez Taboada said CITMA highly values the partnership with the Vietnamese ministry and that she expects the two sides will beef up collaboration in strengthening waste management and developing circular economy.

She further noted that Cuba has great potential for solar power so it wants to step up ties with Vietnam in expanding renewable energy.

The two officials agreed that in the coming time, the two ministries will consider holding technical meetings via video teleconference to exchange information and experience in potential areas of cooperation.