Manila Water Company, Inc., through its Vietnam Representative Office (MWC-VRO), recently participated in the 6th Vietnam International Water Week (VIWW) that brought together over 1,000 delegates from different countries and provinces in Vietnam.

With the theme, "Cooperation for Sustainable Development of Water Resources,” the event is one of the annual activities of the Vietnam Water Cooperation Initiative (VACI), providing opportunities for businesses to express their opinions and commitment to protect water resources and the environment towards the aim of building and maintaining sustainable economic development in the water sector.

Joined by experts from 20 countries, VIWW featured a plenary session on water and sustainable development goals, as well as workshops and forums with nearly 500 scientific papers focusing on several important issues related to water resources.

One of the highlights of the event was the participation of Manila Water Asia Pacific President and CEO Virgilio C. Rivera, Jr. as one of the speakers and panelists in the plenary session aimed at gathering insights from global experts on how to effectively manage and allocate water resources. MWC-VRO also co-sponsored the business forum on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with VACI and World Bank, which explored surrounding issues and experiences on PPP performance. Rivera’s opening remarks focused on key insights and the commitment of both private and public sectors towards the partnership.

Manila Water Vietnam Country Manager Walter Tendencia also shared Manila Water’s experience in PPP in both Philippines and Vietnam, highlighting the partnership as a good framework to improve the water and sanitation sector. Meanwhile, Lawrence Velasco, former Financial Planning Head of PVAP and now Director of the PPP Center Philippines presented an overview of PPP in the water and sanitation sector in the Philippines.

The VIWW convention helped share information, exchange experiences, and promote the networking of experts, managers, and enterprises to develop solutions and innovate water resource management technologies. VACI 2018 also encouraged organizations and enterprises to actively produce and research products, technology solutions and services in the direction of reducing adverse impacts on water resources and the environment.

The 6th VIWW, held on March 3-7, 2018 at the Almaz International Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, was part of a series of activities to mark World Water Day, slated on March 22, 2018.