On 4 April 2019, MONRE Minister, Tran Hong Ha, chaired a National Steering Committee meeting to discuss and define priority areas under the seventh call from the Global Environment Facility (GEF-7) and to develop criteria for selection of GEF-7 project ideas. Participants from different government ministries, agencies, and the State Bank of Vietnam attended the meeting.

From a total of 4 billion USD, 18 million USD will be allocated to Vietnam according to the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR). According to the GEF-7 funding strategy, the majority of funds will be used for biodiversity protection.

During the meeting, participants discussed criteria and priority areas for project selection, and together with the State Bank of Vietnam, developed recommendations regarding payback modalities. Drawing on its experience in utilizing debt, equity and risk mitigation products in the past, the GEF-7 has launched a $136 million Non-Grant Instrument Program to demonstrate the application of innovative finance models to combat global environmental degradation.

Minister Ha appreciated the recommendations and requested the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund which serves as the GEF operational focal point to enhance its roles and responsibilities on supervision, reporting and advisory activities related to GEF project proposals and implementation.