Vietnam and the Republic of Korea signed four memos of cooperation in energy and minerals at a meeting in Hanoi on December 20.

The deals included principles on a joint venture of the Nam Dinh thermo-power plant with a capacity of 2,400 MW at an investment of 4.5 billion USD.

The other accords were a framework agreement of cooperation in exploiting Bao Dai coal mine and improvement of the mining environment in Vietnam, expansion of cooperation in exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in Vietnam and a third country, and feasibility studies on rare minerals in the central province of Nghe An.

The meeting, held by the sub-committee for Vietnam-RoK cooperation in energy and minerals, takes place on an annual basis, dealing with cooperation in electricity, coal, petroleum and minerals.

Since 2003 such a meeting has embarked on deliberating nuclear energy development in the Southeast Asian nation.

RoK Deputy Minister of Economy and Knowledge, Park Young June, who co-chaired this year’s event, said the two countries should better utilise their advantages in areas beyond energy and minerals for mutual interests, such as trade, technology and construction./.