The MoC includes eight co-operative activities of sustainable forest management; climate change mitigation and adaption; effective forest resource management and use; forest, biodiversity conservation, and forest landscape restoration; forest management for natural disaster prevention; research and development of new technology in the field of forestry; human resource development; along with timber legality and responsibility for the trade of timber and timber products.

At the recent signing ceremony in Tokyo, Tran Quang Bao, director of Vietnam Forestry Department, noted his appreciation for the co-operation and support offered by the Japanese side in the field of forestry over recent years.

Japan has supported the nation in developing and implementing strategies, policies, and important projects of the sector such as completing the legal system and supporting the development of the 2017 Forestry Law, along with putting forward decrees and circulars guiding the implementation of the law, Bao said.

Through non-refundable technical assistance ODA programmes/projects and preferential loan projects, the Far East nation has supported the Vietnamese side in enhancing sustainable forest management, improving livelihoods for forest-based communities, boosting biodiversity conservation, and stopping climate change in forestry, Bao said.

Most of the programmes/projects carried out in the nation can be considered effective, thereby contributing to the success of the forestry industry over recent years, he said.

In wood product trade, Japan is one of the five biggest importers from the Vietnamese market in the world with roughly US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion each year.

At the event, Aoyama Toyohisa, head of the Japanese Forestry Department, also reviewed the results of co-operation between the two sides over recent times and highly appreciated the close co-ordination of the Vietnamese side in the process and noted the important achievements recorded.

He suggested that both sides strive to boost co-ordination in developing plans to effectively and practically implement the eight activities that the two sides have identified in the MoC.

Within the framework of the business trip, the Vietnamese delegation also attended other events such as a bilateral discussion with the Japan Biomass Power Association, meeting with representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the fourth Biomass Innovations Asia.

At these events, the nation shared information about the processing and trade of wood and wood products in the country, as well as regulations on the legality of wood to contribute to promoting legal wood production, as well as the sustainable export and trade of wood and wood pellets between the two nations.