(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for an effective enforcement of the Environmental Protection Law to improve living conditions.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs a government meeting on environmental protection. (Photo: VOV)

At an online government meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday, he said that environmental pollution and violations of the law have severely damaged people’s livelihoods and caused social instability. The prime minister suggested that economic growth should be accompanied by environmental protection to ensure sustainable development in the long term. Mr. Phuc added that in recent years, the government has strictly punished cases of environmental pollution.

At the meeting, Mr. Phuc urged ministries, sectors, and local administrators to redouble their efforts to protect the environment and ensure the harmony between the environment and socio-economic development.