Prince William Arrives In Vietnam For First Time To Attend Wildlife Conference

The Duke of Cambridge Prince William arrived in Vietnam Wednesday to take part in the third International Wildlife Trade Conference.

PRINCE WILLIAM ARRIVES IN VIETNAM

Prince William has been part of the initiative to stop illegal wildlife trade and to protect elephants, rhinos, and other endangered species. He is also the president of United for Wildlife, and will be meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and VP Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh during this trip. His two-day conference begins Thursday in Hanoi.

“He knows the people of Vietnam will share his concern that we have less than 25 years to save some of our most iconic species from extinction,” the Prince’s office said in a statement. “He believes Vietnam has a real opportunity to be leaders in wildlife conservation.”

Vietnam is currently one of the major transit sites for illegally trafficked ivory and rhino horns. The government is trying to crack down on this issue, and authorities seized and destroyed nearly 5,000 pounds of ivory and rhino horns to send a message to poachers and traffickers.

The conference in Hanoi will bring together leaders and officials from more than 40 countries, and is the third of its kind after the ones held in London and Botswana in 2015 and 2014 respectively.