Today, Administrator Samantha Power began the second day of her Vietnam trip in Ho Chi Minh City. She met with a local women-led start-up to hear how their USAID-supported app is boosting the efforts of freelance collectors to increase urban recycling and help prevent plastics from entering the ocean. On International Women's Day, she highlighted USAID's commitment to empowering women to earn sustainable incomes and advance locally-led solutions.
Administrator Power then visited a factory of American-owned VF Corporation to observe its renewable energy systems, installed with USAID regulatory support, that are powering factory operations. She highlighted how USAID is partnering with Vietnam to accelerate its clean energy transition and achieve its net zero emissions commitments made at COP26.
Next, the Administrator visited Phu Ly Pagoda in Vinh Long province, where she heard from local leaders and members of the local Khmer community about how climate change is harming their harvests and affecting the future of farming in the Mekong Delta.
Administrator Power ended the day with a visit to one of more than 10,000 floating aquaculture farms in the Mekong Delta, where she interacted with fish farmers and heard their concerns about the impacts of climate change. She heard about how the farmers are coping with the changing water level and growing salinity in the Hau and Tien Rivers, which are two main tributaries of the Mekong in Vietnam. The Administrator highlighted that a critical part of the future of the bilateral partnership with Vietnam is USAID's commitment to addressing the impacts of climate change in the Mekong.
