Vietnam aims to become a maritime powerhouse by 2030

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Wednesday issued a resolution on sustainable development of the maritime economy until 2030 and with a vision until 2045.

The strategy outlined in the resolution aims to have Vietnam become a powerful maritime nation by 2030.

The resolution envisages that by 2030, Vietnam meets basic criteria and has the fundamentals in place for sustainable development of maritime economy, protect and foster its marine ecology and take major initiatives in adapting to climate change and rising sea levels.

It targets that the maritime sector industry accounts for 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and that the 28 coastal cities and provinces contribute 65-70 percent of the nation’s GDP by 2030.

The combined GDP of those cities and provinces made up 60.5 percent of the national total last year, according to official government data.

The resolution also sets out a number of major policies, including the successful and breakthrough developments in the maritime sector in the following order of priority: tourism and maritime services, maritime economy, exploitation of oil and gas and other marine mineral resources, aquaculture and seafood harvesting, coastal industry, renewable energy and new marine economic sectors.

The resolution also notes that in building a regular and modern armed force, Vietnam will give priority to modernize certain military services and law enforcement forces at sea, further consolidate and strengthen military defense at sea, and maintain the independence, sovereignty, jurisdiction and its national sea interests.

With a coastline of nearly 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles), Vietnam is considered a predominantly maritime nation.