On September 23, Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang met with Ms. Mariam Sherman, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam (Photo: Minh Thanh)

Commitment to accelerating the One-million-hectare rice program

A major focus of the meeting was the Sustainable Development Program for one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice linked with green growth in the Mekong Delta through 2030. Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang underscored that this is a strategic initiative prioritized by the Vietnamese Government, aiming at a dual goal: enhancing the value of rice production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He noted that, in addition to loan commitments, the World Bank has mobilized a grant of about US$50 million for the program. Vietnam is now expediting the completion of necessary procedures and is expected to send an official letter to the World Bank by September 30. This will be a key step toward the early disbursement of the grant, helping to realize the program’s dual objectives.

Responding to this, Ms. Mariam Sherman emphasized the need to accelerate inter-ministerial procedures, while also strengthening data sharing, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms to ensure investment efficiency. Mobilizing additional external resources, combined with technical assistance and technology transfer, was identified as essential for ensuring sustainability and enabling the program to be scaled up across the region.

Addressing outstanding issues in ongoing projects

Beyond the rice program, the two sides devoted considerable attention to the World Bank-supported Dam Rehabilitation and Safety Improvement Project (WB8). Following the project’s completion, several technical issues remain unresolved. Ms. Sherman explained that the World Bank has established procedures for handling post-project issues and affirmed the Bank’s readiness to provide technical support to review, assess, and ensure the safety of reservoirs and irrigation dams. She expressed the hope that the project could be closed in a comprehensive manner, with no outstanding concerns.

Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang affirmed that the Government and the Ministry attach great importance to the WB8 project, assigning Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep to directly oversee the resolution of outstanding issues

Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang stressed that WB8 is a project of particular importance to the Government of Vietnam. He said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep has been assigned to directly oversee the resolution of pending issues, while relevant departments have been tasked with reporting within the week so that solutions can be implemented without delay. According to him, the process of addressing the remaining problems could be completed much faster than the two-month timeline suggested by the World Bank.

In addition to WB8, the two sides reviewed progress on other initiatives, including the Climate Resilience and Integrated Transformation in the Mekong Delta (MERIT, WB11) and the Sustainable Fisheries Development Project. Ms. Sherman acknowledged that both projects are advancing well but underlined the importance of promptly finalizing preparatory work and sharing documentation in order to move toward negotiations. She also highlighted the potential for World Bank support in conducting pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on coastal risk management, identifying this as a promising area for future collaboration.

Toward a high-level strategic forum

The meeting also went beyond specific projects. Ms. Sherman proposed holding high-level strategic dialogues between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the World Bank. In her view, with Vietnam’s rapid growth, a longer-term vision is required, not only for the next few years but potentially for decades.

“We would like to see a high-level strategic forum to discuss the areas in which the Ministry would like the World Bank to prioritize support, while also mobilizing resources at the global level,” Ms. Sherman emphasized.

Ms. Mariam Sherman highlighted the World Bank’s readiness to support Vietnam in coastal risk management studies and proposed establishing a high-level strategic forum to discuss key priority areas and mobilize global resources (Photo: Minh Thanh)

Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang welcomed the proposal, describing it as an opportunity for both sides to clearly define strategic areas of cooperation, ranging from green agriculture and natural resource management to climate change adaptation and ecosystem conservation. He stressed that the Ministry places high value on deepening partnerships with international organizations, particularly the World Bank, which has long accompanied Vietnam in implementing key programs and projects.

The September 23 meeting between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the World Bank was not only an occasion to review ongoing initiatives but also to set a course for long-term cooperation. From the one-million-hectare low-emission rice program to WB8, MERIT, and sustainable fisheries, all initiatives share the common goal of promoting green growth, reducing risks, and strengthening resilience to climate change.

With alignment in perspectives, commitments to accelerate progress, and the prospect of establishing a strategic cooperation forum, the partnership between Vietnam and the World Bank is expected to enter a new phase, more substantive and effective, contributing directly to the country’s sustainable development path.

Minh Thanh - Ngoc Huyen