Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Tran Hong Ha said at a press briefing in Hanoi on December 14 that the Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat, actively discussed all important issues related to Vietnam and delivered a speech at the plenary session to express Vietnam’s opinions on climate change.

As the ASEAN president, the Vietnamese delegation proposed ASEAN’s initiative on climate change which was approved and highly valued by ASEAN member countries. The head of the Vietnamese delegation presented ASEAN’s opinions on climate change, which were approved by ASEAN leaders at the ASEAN Summit in 2010.

Vietnam also submitted its second national announcement on climate change and presided over the sideline conference on building the legal framework for coping with climate change for developing countries and organised an exhibition on climate change and sustainable development. It also held 15 bilateral meetings with delegations from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the US, the Netherlands, Australia, Poland and international organizations, including the World Bank, to discuss the issues of concern and to find support for Vietnam to cope with climate change.

Present at the COP16 and CMP6 were around 12,000 delegates, including 5,200 high-ranking officials of 194 countries, 5,400 people from the UN, and NGOs and 1,270 journalists.