Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The marine economy has become key to Vietnam's economicstructure and exploitation of the country's seas and islands has created anew driving force for development amid deep international integration, expertshave said.

To realisethe goal of Vietnam becoming a strong coastal country by 2045,experts, scientists, businesses and State agencies all think it is important topay attention to the role of science, marine technology and marine humanresources.

Vu Truong Son,Deputy Director of the Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands under theMinistry of Natural Resources and Environment, said to ensure solidpolicy-making and planning, science, technology and marine research in Vietnamneed to be one step ahead.

To make themost of advanced scientific and technological achievements and to be among theleading countries in ASEAN and form a contingent of highly qualifiedmarine science and technology staff, the Vietnam Administration of Sea andIslands was assigned to take charge of building a master project on marinescience and technology research to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

The projectaims to promote innovation and apply scientific and public achievements,promote research, establish scientific grounds for planning and completingpolicies and laws on the sustainable development of the marine economy andresearch associated with an investigation of marine resources and theenvironment.

The projectincludes several goals, such as prioritising research on the applicationof science and technology for the marine economy, with a focus on improving theefficiency of co-ordination among sectors, linking the goal of marine economicdevelopment with the protection of the sovereignty of sea and islands andenvironmental protection.

Along withthe master project, in recent years, the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment has worked with the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop aprogramme of national-level science and technology research onsea and islands in 2021-2025. They are also researching a project oftechnological development of natural resources, sea and island environmentsamid emerging challenges in the marine environmental security.

AssociateProfessor Nguyen Duy Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of MarineAquaculture, said from a geopolitical perspective, the topographical structureand geographical space of Vietnam has unique features and many advantages witha coastline of 3,260km and a large sea space.

Vietnam isamong the 10 countries with the highest index of coast length relative to itsterritorial area. On average, there is 1km of coastline for every 100sq.km ofland, six times higher than the world average. Vietnam has more than 3,000islands and more than 1 million square kilometres of exclusive economic waters,three times the size of the mainland.

In themainland as well as in the sea, the country contains many important ecosystemsand rich and diverse natural resources, said Dung.

Nguyen ThachDang, Director of the Department of Management and Basic Investigation of Seaand Islands under the Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands, said foreignactivities and international relations have contributed to maintainingsovereignty, jurisdiction and national interests at sea, maintaining a peacefuland stable environment for development.

Dang said Vietnamhas exploited the potential and advantages of the islands from ancient times upto now in many different aspects.

This hascreated a solid foundation for Vietnam to build the marine economy into animportant part of the country's economic structure. That will create a positionand force for Vietnam in its integration with ASEAN and the world, contributingto the protection of sea and island sovereignty.

Vietnam hasalso expanded maritime co-operation with countries inside and outside theregion such as the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Australia, India and the US inmany fields including fishing, joint patrols, scientific research and marineenvironmental protection.

Plans andprogrammes have been realised by the International Cooperation onSustainable Marine Economic Development of Vietnam to 2030 approved by PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the Resolution No 647/QD-TTg on May 18 lastyear.

Theexploitation of the potential advantages of sea and islands should be furtherstrengthened in research and implementation of policies and plans for Vietnam'smarine economic development at present and in the future, said Dang./.