Head of the Chinese delegation was Mr. Xu Qinghua, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of MEP. The Norwegian delegation was lead by Ms. Hæge Andenæs, Director General of the Department for International Cooperation in the Ministry of Environment, Norway. The Norwegian delegation was warmly welcomed and hosted. The Chinese hospitality contributed to a warm and friendly atmosphere during formal as well as informal discussions between the respective delegations.
The delegations exchanged views on priority issues on the international environmental agenda of relevance to the bilateral cooperation, including the International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the upcoming tenth Conference of the Parties under the Convention for Biological Diversity, the progress under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the ongoing negotiations on a global instrument for global reduction of mercury releases, air pollution control, trade and environment, and the financial crisis and greening of the economy. The meeting also shared ideas on phase V of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.
The bilateral project cooperation will continue with emphasis on existing priorities such as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), mercury and air pollution control. Furthermore, cooperation on the relationship between climate change and biodiversity, and topics related development of the green economy, will be explored.