The commitment was noted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between French Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and Regional Development Alain Juppe and the Vietnamese Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Mai Ai Truc who made a working visit in the country from June 4-9.

The two sides agreed that in the coming period France will accelerate cooperation with Vietnam in institution building, capacity building in water resources management, technical assistance, training, improving community awareness about water resources protection and building an information system on water resources.

To realize the MoU, the two sides will set up a France-Vietnam Committee for Water Resources which includes representatives of the French Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Regional Development and Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The committee will hold a meeting every two years to review the implementation of the MoU and analyse and plan common future action plans.

During his stay in France, Mr Truc worked with representatives of agencies in charge of water management, some water resource associations and visited some establishments that specialise in sewage treatment and water basin management.