Slovakia is willing to cooperate with and assist Vietnam in developing its energy industry, Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak said at the Vietnam-Slovakia Business Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on November 5.

The Slovakian guest highlighted Vietnam’s great potential for developing its energy industry. He praised the country for its visionary energy development strategy, which orients the sector in the right direction, aiming to build Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant by 2030 in addition to existing hydropower and thermal power facilities.

Deputy PM Miroslav Lajcak noted that Slovakia’s energy security strategy intended to provide a reasonable electricity price for consumers, ensure the sector’s export orientation, and make Slovakia an energy transit country in Europe. He also said Slovakia’s energy mainly came from atomic energy plants, compressed natural gas, and renewable energy sources. The Slovakian Deputy PM said economic development should go in hand with energy efficiency, noting that the cooperation between Vietnam and Slovakia should go in this direction.

The forum, co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Slovakian Embassy in Vietnam, also discussed bilateral cooperation opportunities in a number of other fields, such as healthcare, the environment, trade and commerce.

According to VCCI, two-way trade exceeded 400 million USD in 2013, an increase of 35 percent compared to the previous year. During the first eight months of this year, bilateral trade totalled 281 million USD, including 262 million USD in exports to Slovakia. Slovakia is currently operating five investment projects worth 235 million USD in Vietnam.

Earlier that day, the Slovakian Deputy PM held a working session with FPT Software in HCM City’s High-Tech Park. He said that FPT’s purchase of Slovakian RWE IT in June this year was a fine example of the close cooperation between the two countries.-VNA