During the congress, the delegation focused on discussing important issues related to the building and signing of an international treaty in the framework of WMO in an effort to improve the capacity to collect information related to meteorological and hydrographical phenomena.

The Vietnamese delegation also expressed wishes that the role of WMO in coordinating meteorological activities would be improved through its decision-making and programming.

It called for international technical assistance to promote its management, assessment, and observation of meteorological activities; improve the quality of weather forecasts to cope with the impact of climate change; and promote scientific research and application of technologies to reduce the impact of climate change for sustainable development.

According to Deputy Minister Ha, Vietnam is a developing country with underdeveloped technology, that is often affected by natural disasters.

As a WMO member, Vietnam has signed all international treaties in the framework of the organization.

On the sidelines of the congress, the Vietnamese delegation also had bilateral meetings with other members including China, Russia, the US, Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea during which agreements on meteorological cooperation were signed.

Participants in the congress were very interested in the Global Framework for Climate Services which is expected to provide poor and developing countries with climate-related information to help them adapt themselves to unavoidable risks.

Also at the Congress, David Grimes of Canada was elected WMO President for the 2011-2015 term in office and Michel Jarraud as WMO Secretary-General.

The congress will last until June 3.