Bilateral Agreements/Joint Statements

Bilateral Agreements/Joint Statements

Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change has entered into bilateral cooperation agreements with a number of countries such as Norway, Sweden, France, Finland, Canada, Bangladesh, etc. Most of these agreements are operated though the Joint Working Groups. These agreements provide a mechanism for interaction and consultation in the field of environment.

The main activities undertaken in recent times:

• 2^nd Indo-German Environment Forum convened on 28-29 January, 2015 at New Delhi. The theme of the Forum was Solutions for Waste and Water Management, Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Urban Development. A number of official and business dignitaries in the respective fields participated and exchanged views and explored opportunities for further cooperation.
• On the sidelines of the 2^nd Indo-German Environment Forum, Shri Prakash Javadekar, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change held bilateral meeting with Dr. Barbara Hendricks, German Federal Minister of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety on 27^th January, 2015. During the meeting environmental and climate change issues of mutual interest between the two countries were discussed. As a follow-up of this discussion, two Indo-German Working Groups on (i) Waste Management & Circular Economy; and (ii) Water, have been constituted.

• On the sidelines of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, 2015 (DSDS), Shri Prakash Javadekar, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change held bilateral meetings with Ministers / Member of Parliaments / high level officials from the following countries:
  • Mongolia (Mrs. S. Oyun, Member of Mongolian Parliament and Former Minister of Environment and Green Development),
  • Mauritius (Mr. Jayeshwur Raj Dayal, Minister of Environment, National Emergency and Beach Authority, Republic of Mauritius),
  • Poland (Mr. Maciej H. Grabowski, Minister of Environment, Republic of Poland),
  • Mexico (Dr. Juan Jose Guerra Abud, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico),
  • Malta (Dr. Leo Brincat, Minister for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change, Malta),
  • Norway (Mr. Lars Andreas Lunde, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway),
  • Russia (Mr. Sergey Efimovich Donskoi, Minister for Natural Resources and Ecology, Russia),
  • France (Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development, France),
  • Australia (Mr. Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia),
  • Maldives (Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Former President of Maldives).

During the bilateral meetings, Hon’ble Minister informed the delegates about the new initiatives taken by the Indian Government under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, especially in the field of environment and sustainable development. The existing bilateral cooperation in different areas of environment as well as opportunities for future cooperation / collaboration was discussed.

• ^4th India-European Union Environment Forum convened on 25^thFebruary, 2015 at New Delhi. The Forum provided an opportunity to address the challenges and to discuss resource efficiency in the context of a Circular Economy with a specific focus on waste management. Participants engaged in an active and open debate on practices and opportunities offered by better Resource Efficiency and the role of business, civil society and public authorities in making that happen.
• A bilateral meeting took place between Shri Prakash Javadekar, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Mr. Greg Hunt, Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Australia on 12^th March, 2015 wherein issues related to climate change, wildlife, great barrier reef and possibility of having a MoU on Environment were discussed.