HANOI – March 19, 2014 – The Investment Guideline for Green Growth Project was launched yesterday at a joint workshop co-hosted by GGGI and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), Government of Vietnam (GoV). The workshop was attended by senior government officials and representatives from the private sector, research institutes and development partners.
“The investment guideline will help with implementing our Green Growth Strategy by streamlining public investment, facilitating access to international funding, and promoting private investment for green projects,” said Dr. Pham Hoang Mai, Director General, Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment of MPI.
This project is a part of the wider Vietnam Green Growth Strategy 2011-2020 (VGSS), which will support economic and institutional changes to achieve sustainable development across Vietnam.
The development of investment guidelines will assist ministries and provincial governments with prioritizing and implementing the actions outlined in the VGGS . The VGGS has a comprehensive, multi-sectoral focus, and an investment guideline methodology is therefore necessary for supporting MPI to screen and prioritize green growth investment opportunities. The development of investment guidelines will also assist the GoV with mobilizing private and public finance for implementation of the VGGS.
“The investment guideline will be one of the key tools to enable the Vietnamese government to incorporate the Green Growth Strategy into the annual and 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plans. This project will also contribute to mobilizing private investment that results in green economic growth which creates jobs, increases productivity, and improves the environment,” said Dr. Imran Habib Ahmad, GGGI’s Director of East Asia and Pacific.
The draft investment guideline tool was presented at yesterday’s workshop. The tool is based on multi-criteria decision analysis and its development was informed by investment guidelines in use globally, including similar investment prioritization methodologies currently used in Vietnam. This tool will allow policymakers to decide which investment options promote and contribute to the objectives of green growth in Vietnam.
While economic growth rates are projected to remain high in Vietnam over the short-term, decades of resource-intensive and low-quality growth has put future development at risk. The use of investment guidelines to implement the VGSS will provide the GoV with innovative solutions to improve the livelihoods of the Vietnamese people.