Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Johan Vande Lanotte on January 21toured the southern province of Ninh Thuan to inspect the progressof Belgian-funded water management projects in the locality.

During a working session with key provincial leaders, Lanotte, who isalso Minister of Economy, Consumer Affairs and the North Sea , spokehighly of Ninh Thuan’s efforts in implementing the projects andoptimising the efficiency of the investment.

He heldthat it is necessary to focus more on protecting water resources. AsVietnam is among the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change,the Belgian Government is ready to cooperate with Vietnam in seekingresponse measures, he said.

According to provincialleaders, Belgian-funded projects in Ninh Thuan have a total investmentof 31 million EUR, including nine million EUR from the VietnameseGovernment.

The money was allocated to a project toconstruct the Lanh Ra reservoir in the 2007-2012 period, one tostrengthen the constitution and capacity of personnel in watermanagement in the 2009-2012 period and another to enhance the ability tomanage water resources and respond to climate change lasting from 2010to 2015.

The projects have generated practicaloutcomes, contributing to raising local people’s awareness of theenvironment and water protection and reducing the impacts of floodingand natural disasters.

Deputy PM Lanotte suggestedthat Ninh Thuan should tap its potential and advantages to attract moreforeign investors, including those from Belgium .

He confirmed that he will spare no effort to encourage Belgianbusinesses to explore investment opportunities in Ninh Thuan, especiallyin the fields of tourism, which he said is a great potential of thelocality.-VNA