Trần Quang Bảo (left) and Aoyama Toyohisa at the signing of Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) on bilateral co-operation in the field of forestry between Việt Nam and Japan's Departments of Forestry, in Tokyo on Tuesday. — Photo courtersy of Việt Nam Department of Forestry

TOKYO –— The Department of Forestry of Việt Nam and the Department of Forestry of Japan have signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) on bilateral co-operation in the field of forestry.

The MoC include eight co-operative activities of sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation and adaption, effective forest resource management and use, forest, biodiversity conservation and forest landscape restoration, forest management for natural disaster prevention, research and development of new technology in the field of forestry, human resource development, and timber legality, responsible trade of timber and timber products.

At the signing ceremony in Tokyo on Tuesday, Trần Quang Bảo, Director of Việt Nam’s Forestry Department, said he highly appreciated the co-operation and support from the Japanese side in the field of forestry in recent years.

Japan has supported Việt Nam in developing and implementing strategies, policies and important projects of the industry such as completing the legal system and supporting the development of the 2017 Forestry Law, decrees and circulars guiding the implementation of the law, Bảo said.

Through non-refundable technical assistance ODA programmes/projects and preferential loan projects, Japan has supported Việt Nam in strengthening sustainable forest management, improving livelihoods for forest-based communities, biodiversity conservation, and climate change in forestry, Bảo said.

Most of the programmes/projects that have been implemented in Việt Nam are considered effective, contributing to the success of the forestry industry in recent years, he said.

In wood product trade, Japan is one of the five biggest importing countries of Việt Nam in the world with about US$1.5-2 billion each year.

“Despite achieving the important results, the two sides needed to continue to advance co-operation, to promote the potential and strengths of the two countries in the field of forestry, making bilateral co-operation more effective and in-depth, contributing to the development of the two countries' forestry industries," the director said.

At the event, head of Japanese Forestry Department, Aoyama Toyohisa also reviewed the results of co-operation between the two sides in recent times and highly appreciated the close co-ordination of the Vietnamese side in the process and achieved important achievements.

He suggested that in the coming time, the two sides needed to strengthen co-ordination in developing plans to effectively and practically implement the eight activities that the two sides have identified in the MoC.

Within the framework of the business trip, the Vietnamese delegation also attended other events such as bilateral discussion with the Japan Biomass Power Association, meeting with representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the 4th Biomass Innovations Asia.

At these events, Việt Nam shared information about the processing and trade of wood and wood products in Việt Nam, and regulations on the legality of wood to contribute to promoting legal wood production, sustainable export and trade of wood and wood pellets between the two countries. — VNS