Minister Nguyen Van Thang highly appreciated the Green Climate Fund's support for Vietnam in responding to climate change 16/04/2025 06:11:00 171

Ministry of Finance Nguyen Van Thang and Mr. Herman Mandal, Director of the Asia-Pacific Division of the Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The meeting was also attended by representatives from relevant departments of the Ministry of Finance, including the Departments of Debt Management and External Finance, the Finance and Economic Sector Department, and the Office of the Ministry of Finance.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that GCF is one of the most important partners in increasing financial resources for Vietnam, especially in the field of climate change. Addressing climate change is a common responsibility of all countries and the Vietnamese Government places a high priority on this endeavor, including strengthening cooperation in dealing with climate change issues, equitable green transition, balancing finance for adaptation with finance for greenhouse gas emission reduction, and reforming the global financial system.

Mr. Herman Mandal, Director of the Asia-Pacific Division of GCF expressed his gratitude to the Minister for taking the time to welcome the delegation. He also thanked Vietnam for its contributions to GCF in the past. At the meeting, GCF hoped to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation to implement the GCF-2 Program for the 2024-2027 period to support the Vietnamese Government in accessing financial resources to achieve climate goals; and update information on the contact point for working with GCF in Vietnam.

Ministry of Finance Nguyen Van Thang spoke at the meeting

At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Van Thang highly appreciated the role of GCF and the projects that GCF has funded for Vietnam. Recently, Vietnam has also been actively and resolutely implementing its commitments at COP26 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to "0" (Net zero) by 2050. At the same time, Vietnam must continue to implement economic growth targets and ensure social security. To achieve these goals, large financial resources are needed. Therefore, the Minister believes that the capital of the GCF Fund is very necessary for Vietnam in economic development, emission reduction, green growth, and sustainable development.

“I hope that GCF will continue to allocate financial resources to support the Government of Vietnam and private sector enterprises in simultaneously pursuing economic development objectives and meeting the goals of green growth and sustainable development. I am also very pleased to know that the Fund has financial resources of up to 30 billion USD. This is an important resource to help countries, including Vietnam, achieve climate goals,” the Minister emphasized.

Overview of the meeting

On this occasion, Minister Nguyen Van Thang also informed about the focal point of the Ministry of Finance to implement cooperation with the GCF Fund. Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance will carry out procedures to notify the GCF Fund that the Ministry of Finance serves as the National Designated Authority for GCF in Vietnam and assign the Department of Debt Management and External Finance as the focal unit to exercise this authority.

Mr. Herman Mandal, Director of the Asia-Pacific Division of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) spoke at the meeting

Sharing at the meeting, Mr. Herman Mandal stated that the perspectives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance are closely aligned with the GCF's strategic direction. Currently, the Fund is in the process of restructuring and is in great need of mobilizing more resources for climate change response. The GCF has an important goal of minimizing risks for projects as well as actively attracting more financial resources and implementing measures to control and limit investment risks. The Fund will also continue to research and select large-scale projects with high sustainability and long-term effectiveness.

In addition, GCF is also discussing and promoting support mechanisms for both private and state-owned enterprises. The private sector currently holds a lot of potential, but still faces many barriers, making it difficult for them to access resources and implement climate projects.

Further exchanging with Mr. Herman Mandal, Minister Nguyen Van Thang noted that All GCF-funded projects in Vietnam are implemented in accordance with the ODA approval and management procedures. Currently, the Ministry of Finance is developing and amending institutional regulations, with the aim of facilitating better access to and more effective mobilization of funds from the GCF.

The Minister also expressed the desire that in the future, in addition to non-refundable aid capital, GCF will consider providing other financial support, including preferential loans with low interest rates, to diversify Vietnam’s funding channels. He also voiced strong support for GCF in assisting Vietnam in implementing the GCF Phase 3 projects 2028–2031).