Vietnam, EU seek to promote energy partnership

An overview of the meeting (Photo:VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had a meeting with visiting Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans in Hanoi on February 18, during which the two sides sought cooperation orientations in the future, especially in energy and power transformation.

Dien hailed the visit by the EC official in the context that Vietnam and the EU are actively building and implementing specific action plans to realise the outcomes of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The minister asked for support from the EU, the leading partners with strong commitments and actions in climate change mitigation and green transformation, in the transformation of the growth model towards a green, circular and sustainable economy.

Both sides discussed many issues of shared concern such as the policy to adapt to climate change, plans to realise commitments at the COP26 and power transformation plans ad well as the orientation for the development of circular economy.

Minister Dien said that Vietnam’s commitments at the COP26 show the country’s determination to persistently complete the target of switching from traditional fossil energy sources to green energy resources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with its own strength together with cooperation and support from the international community in both financial resources and technology.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will prioritise the support to clean and renewable energy projects and is willing to coordinate with partners and donors from the EU in the field, he stated.

Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans works with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Photo: VNA) 

Sustainable development cooperation between the two sides has been implemented positively and efficiently over the years through the institutions within the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), he noted, adding that it is Vietnam’s first deal with contents related to sustainable development, which shows the country’s great attention to the balance between trade and environmental protection.

Thanks to the EVFTA, Vietnam has favourable conditions to access modern technologies from the EU and draw more projects to speed up the growth of green and digital economy as well as renewable energy, thus helping Vietnamese products meet technical and environmental requirements in the EU market, he said.

At the meeting, both sides expressed delight at the Vietnam-EU cooperation in economy, trade and energy, and agreed to strengthen their partnership in the future.

The Vietnamese side proposed that the EU continue to support and give priority to technical and financial support and the transfer of technology to Vietnam, including sustainable energy transformation programme and the Vietnam Energy Partnership Group (VEPG).

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, last year, trade between Vietnam and the EU reached 57 billion USD in 2021, up 14.5 percent year on year, with Vietnam’s export revenue rising 14.2 percent to 40.1 billion USD.

The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that in the first year of implementing the EVFTA, the export revenue of products using the EUR.1 certificate of origin (C/O) reached about 7.71 billion USD./.

VNA