​Eighth ASEAN Working Group on Chemicals and Waste meeting opens in Hanoi

Co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) and the ASEAN Secretariat, the event is an occasion for ASEAN member states to review their cooperation in chemical and waste management over recent years and lay out orientations and principles of regional cooperation for the time ahead.

Main items on the agenda included updates on decisions of meetings in the ASEAN framework; the implementation of the working group's plan of action; intersectoral initiatives on chemicals and waste; the outcomes of Meetings of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions in 2022 and 2023; issues related to the Montreal Protocol and the Minamata Convention; and ASEAN cooperation with development partners and specialised agencies on chemicals and waste.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said that the meeting takes place in the context of environmental pollution caused by chemicals and waste becoming one of the serious threats to human health and the planet. In particular, the ASEAN region is one of the hot spots of plastic pollution.

Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan said that as a responsible and active member of ASEAN, Vietnam hopes to cooperate with the international community; strengthening cooperation in preventing illegal cross-border transport of chemicals and hazardous waste following all international frameworks under multilateral environmental agreements.

"Vietnam will continue to implement the environmentally-friendly management of hazardous chemicals and waste throughout their life cycle; reducing waste based on circular economy principles and in compliance with legal frameworks and existing national policies; and continue to improve the legal framework on the management of persistent organic pollutants and waste,” he said.

He added that Vietnam will continue to work closely with other ASEAN member countries, non-ASEAN countries, and international partners to mobilise resources for capacity building, technology transfer, and experience sharing on the management of hazardous chemicals and waste.

Founded in late 2015, the AWGCW convenes its meeting annually in rotation among the ASEAN member states.