Hanoi (VNA) – With its market of over 100 million people and growing demand for transport electrification, Vietnam offers significant potential for projects involving batteries and new materials, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang told Linh Austin, Chairman and CEO of US-based R3 Lithium.
Hosting a reception for Austin in Hanoi on September 21, the Deputy PM said Vietnam consistently regards the US as one of its strategically important partners and wishes to work with US businesses to deepen the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a substantive and effective manner.
Vietnam is pursuing a new development model that identifies science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as key drivers, while prioritising deep processing, modern technology applications and environmental protection, he noted.
Accordingly, Vietnam aims to strengthen international integration, including integration into global technology supply chains, and mobilise external resources for development. It is committed to creating favourable conditions for foreign businesses, including US companies such as R3 Lithium, to invest and operate effectively in the country, he said.
Austin welcomed Vietnam’s increasingly open and favourable investment policies, noting that transport electrification is developing strongly with the number of electric vehicles in use on the rise. He also spoke highly of Vietnamese businesses’ capacity to cooperate and invest in areas where R3 Lithium has strengths.
Highlighting Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, he said R3 Lithium is interested in cooperating with Vietnamese partners in green transition, particularly in battery technology, recycling and processing critical minerals.
The company’s goal is not only to establish a supply chain but also to build an ecosystem for recycling and reusing batteries and critical minerals in Vietnam, he said.
Welcoming US businesses to invest and operate in Vietnam, Thang said the Southeast Asian country seeks not merely to attract more investment capital but to establish partnerships based on co-creation.
Under this approach, investment should be linked to research and development, technology transfer, high-quality human resources, improving capacity for domestic businesses, and products with global value, he said.
The Deputy PM expressed his hope that R3 Lithium will make positive contributions to the development of Vietnam-US relations in the time ahead./.
VNA
