Marine economy: New driving force for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta

(Chinhphu.vn) - On June 27, in Kien Giang, Can Tho University and Kien Giang province organized the Mekong Delta Sustainable Development Forum - Vision 2045 with the theme "Marine economic development: New driving force for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta".

Domestic and international delegates attending the Dialogue - Photo: VGP/LS

In the new context and following the Government's direction on the development of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho University has chaired and organized the "Forum on Sustainable Development of the Mekong Delta - Vision 2045 (SDMD 2045)" from 2022.

Speaking at the seminar, Vice Chairman of Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee Giang Thanh Khoa emphasized: The seminar is a very special event, not only a professional meeting, but also a convergence of vision, intelligence and development aspirations; a place to connect resources - create solutions - promote common action for a sustainable marine future for the whole region and Vietnam.

The Mekong Delta - the land of the "Nine Dragons" - is not only the largest center of rice, fruit and seafood production in the country, but also an area with extremely large marine potential.

The whole region has 13 provinces and cities, of which 7 are coastal provinces, with a coastline of more than 700 km, accounting for nearly 25% of the total coastline of our country; and has over 360,000 km² of adjacent exclusive economic zone.

With these natural advantages, the marine economy is making a significant contribution to the country's development. The region accounts for over 52% of the country's total aquatic product output, over 60% of aquaculture output, contributing nearly 40% of aquatic product export turnover. Coastal destinations such as Phu Quoc, Ha Tien, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu... are attracting tens of millions of tourists each year; offshore wind power projects, renewable energy, seaports and logistics services are taking shape, opening up new development prospects...

Kien Giang is currently one of the leading provinces in the country in terms of scale of fisheries exploitation and marine aquaculture. In 2024, the total aquatic product output of the province will reach nearly 850,000 tons, of which exploitation accounts for more than 63%. Marine tourism - especially in Phu Quoc attracts more than 5 million visitors, making an important contribution to the province's economic growth.

Coastal economic zones and marine ecological urban areas are clearly taking shape, aiming at the vision of Kien Giang becoming a multi-sector, multi-sector marine economic center of the Southwest region.

The objective of this Forum is to connect domestic and international stakeholders to organize regular seminars and forums to share information and propose solutions, contributing to supporting the development of strategies and policies for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region with a vision to 2045.

Strengthen cooperation among stakeholders to develop and implement research and development programs and projects, contributing to the development of science and technology, socio-economics, environment and sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region.

At the same time, contribute to building Can Tho University into a center for information and data exploitation, interaction, sharing and providing scientific and technological consulting, training human resources for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region.

The key areas of the SDMD 2045 Forum include: Resources, health and education; science and technology; environment, climate change, natural resources; food security and food safety; economy, society and humanity; infrastructure.

Since 2022, the Forum has organized The first SDMD International Forum in 2022 "Science and Technology: Driving Force for Sustainable Development of the Mekong Delta" was successfully held with 13 participants. Reports and discussion sessions with 8 leaders and experts; with the participation of over 600 people, including central and local leaders, scientists, businesses and international organizations.

At the same time, build and deploy over 120 international projects including 20 large-scale international cooperation projects and 60 provincial-level topics were implemented in the Mekong Delta localities; including the construction of many technical demonstration models and training for managers, technical staff, businesses, farmers, and youth in the localities.

At the seminar, representatives of ministries, branches, localities, institutes/schools, and enterprises discussed the development of Kien Giang into a national marine economic center. With topics such as: Aquaculture, exploitation and processing of seafood; marine environment and resources; towards building and operating a Center for conservation and development of marine species in Phu Quoc; research, application of science and technology and digital transformation in marine economic development; modernized and sustainable development of marine economy; new energy/renewable energy; human resources for marine economic development; marine tourism; freight transport and logistics; SDMD and Cooperation in developing marine economy in Kien Giang.

On this occasion, Can Tho University and Phu Quoc Sun Company Limited - SUN Group signed a MOU. Awarding scholarships from Sun Group in the Southern region worth 50 million VND to students of Can Tho University.

Le Son

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/kinh-te-bien-dong-luc-moi-cho-phat-trien-ben-vung-dbscl-10225062722330054.htm