US embassy cable - 05HANOI820

UNCLAS HANOI 000820 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR OES - MARSHA GOLDBERG, FABIO SATURNI 
STATE FOR OES - JAMES STORY, STETSON TINKHAM 
STATE PASS TO USAID/ANE - TIM RESCH, PATRICIA CHAPLIN 
STATE PASS TO NOAA/OIA - JONATHAN JUSTI, NOAA SPINRAD 
BANGKOK FOR ECON JIM WALLER 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDMA TBEANS, WBOWMAN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV, KSCA, TBIO, VM 
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: NOAA'S SPINRAD SUPPORTS ICM ACTIVITIES 
 
REF: A) HANOI 766 B) HANOI 515 
 
1. Summary.  National Oceanographic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service Assistant 
Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad led a seven-person NOAA 
delegation to attend a March 13-16 wrap-up workshop of the 
EAP-EI/USAID/NOAA funded project to build capacity for 
integrated coastal management in the Tonkin Gulf.  Spinrad's 
visit to Hanoi and Ha Long City, Vietnam, highlighted the 
good cooperation between Vietnam and United States on 
science and technology, particularly in the areas of coastal 
management, oil spill planning and weather/flood 
forecasting.  STATE/USAID/NOAA support during 2002-2005 has 
been about USD 850,000 for projects for Integrated Coastal 
Management (ICM).  End Summary. 
 
2. On March 14-16, NOAA National Ocean Service Assistant 
Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad led a seven-person NOAA 
delegation to attend the final workshop in Phase I of the 
EAP-EI/USAID/NOAA project, "Building Capacity for ICM in the 
Tonkin Gulf."  Ref A described findings of the workshop. 
Spinrad also met with Minister of Fisheries Ta Quan Ngoc and 
Vice President of the Vietnamese Academy of Science and 
Technology Dr. Nguyen Khoa Son.  Spinrad made a presentation 
on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP) and the U.S. 
Ocean Action Plan to Vice Minister of Fisheries Nguyen Viet 
Thang, Hai Phong People's Committee Vice Chairmen Nguyen Van 
Thanh and Quang Ninh People's Committee Representative Tran 
Duc Lam. 
 
3. Spinrad met with Minister of Fisheries Ta Quang Ngoc on 
March 16.  The Minister noted that fisheries are a vital 
economic and food resource for the Vietnamese people, 
especially the poor.  The Minister expressed gratitude for 
U.S. cooperation and support for coastal management 
initiatives in Vietnam that could expand to include 
fisheries resource conservation.  Expressing a desire to 
move from multilateral (e.g. APEC) and bilateral talks to 
develop long-term technical assistance activities, the 
Minister noted that Vietnam is seeking solutions and new 
approaches to improve ocean governance effectiveness.  He 
was pleased to receive a copy of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. 
 
4. Spinrad also called on Dr. Nguyen Khoa Son, the Vice 
President of the Vietnamese Academy of Science and 
Technology (VAST).  Son listed VAST's priorities as follows: 
biotechnology, information technology, environmental 
technology, biological research, marine science and 
technology, disaster prevention, electronics and 
instrumentation as well as seismology and earthquakes. 
VAST's annual budget for its 18 research institutes, 
including the National Oceanographic Institute, is about USD 
50-80 million.  VAST is building new laboratories (USD 3 
million each) for genetics, information technology/ 
electronics and plant science technology.  Future 
laboratories are reportedly planned to include microbiology, 
robotics and satellite/earth observation. 
 
5. Remarking on the good cooperation between Vietnam and the 
United States in science and technology, Son expressed his 
strong interest in expanding scientific cooperation with 
NOAA, especially in oceanography.  Son wants to expand 
bilateral cooperation beyond short visits between 
researchers and to engage in joint research projects. 
However, he needs to find financial support and to identify 
mechanisms to fund United States-Vietnam research projects. 
 
6. STATE/USAID/NOAA support during 2002-2005 is 
approximately USD 850,000, funding projects such as 
"Building Capacity for Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) 
in Tonkin Gulf", "Improved Oil Spill Contingency Planning in 
Saigon River" and "Establishing Pilot Marine Protected Area 
(MPA) Training and Certification Program in Vietnam."  NOAA 
has recently submitted a proposal to continue the ICM 
project in Vietnam, which Post strongly endorses (Ref A). 
 
MARINE 
 
 
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