Deputy PM busy on threshold of WEF meeting

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on May 22 held several bilateral meetings with leaders of international organisations and businesses during his trip to Geneva to attend the 52nd World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai (R) meets COP26 President Alok Sharma

At his meeting with British Cabinet Minister and President for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Alok Sharma, Khai said that Vietnam has been implementing many overall and comprehensive measures in the field of energy transition and growth model transformation towards a green and circular direction to realise commitments made at COP26.

The official underlined that ensuring energy security for growth and reducing emissions at the same time is a very complicated problem that requires the support of the international community in terms of resources, technology, and governance capacity. Therefore, he said that Vietnam hopes that the UK, the European Union (EU) and other member states of the Group of Seven (G7) will soon make specific commitments to supporting Vietnam in this area.

For his part, Sharma held that Vietnam has made a proper decision to announce the net-zero emission commitment at the COP26, lauding Vietnam’s efforts to realise the commitments, especially the formation of a national steering committee for implementing COP26 commitments  to be led by the Prime Minister.

He held that Vietnam boasts high potential in renewable energy, noting that at the meeting in March 2022, at the proposal of the UK, G7 members agreed to include Vietnam in the list of the countries prioritised by G7 for energy cooperation. He said he hopes that G7 countries and Vietnam will soon reach a cooperation agreement on a fair and sustainable energy transition.

At a meeting with WEF President Borge Brende, Khai conveyed PM Pham Minh Chinh’s best regards to WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab. The Vietnamese Deputy PM suggested that the WEF continue to promote its role as a bridge between the Government and businesses in the process of shaping development trends and promoting new growth engines.

The two sides shared pleasure at the practically and sustainably growing partnership between Vietnam and the WEF. Deputy Prime Minister Khai stressed that Vietnam is focusing on building an independent and self-reliant economy, while continuing to promote extensive, comprehensive and effective international integration and improving the country’s position in global supply chains.

The WEF President showed support to development orientations and view perspectives of Vietnam, expressing his wish to continue promoting the Vietnam - WEF partnership, especially in speeding up digital transformation, optimising achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, developing sustainable agriculture, and promoting energy transformation and personnel training. The WEF will continue to coordinate with Vietnam to organise the second National Strategic Dialogue in the future.

During a meeting with Henrik Anderson President/CEO at Vestas Wind Systems, Deputy PM Khai highly valued the firm’s capacity, experience and efforts in developing wind power projects in Vietnam.

He said that Vietnam is completing Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) and heading to the national energy transition process. He noted that Vietnam will need 100.000 MW of power in 2025 and 150.000 MW in 2030, with the demand for renewable energy of more than 36,000MW in 2025 and nearly 50,000MW in 2030. Total demand for renewable power accounts for about 30 percent of the country’s total electricity need, he added.

He underlined that the Vietnamese Government encourages foreign investors, especially those with competent capacity, experience and financial capacity to engage in developing renewable energy, contributing to the country’s sustainable development process.

Anderson said that Vietnam will continue to be one of the key markets of his firm in the coming time. The firm is ready to discuss and coordinate with the Vietnamese Government to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Vietnam's energy industry, he said, expressing his hope that Vietnam will soon finalise PDP VIII and design a stable mechanism for renewable energy development.

The same day, Deputy PM Khai also met President of the New Development Bank (NDB) Marcos Troyjo who spoke highly of the outstanding economic development of Vietnam over the past decades, holding that Vietnam will be a future star in the field.

He said that the NDB hopes to cooperate with Vietnam and provide financial support packages to the country's economic recovery and development, adding that NDB's activities are designed to suit the conditions and needs of each country, focusing on providing loans in the areas of clean energy, transport infrastructure, irrigation, water resource management and sanitation, sustainable urban development and economic cooperation and integration.

Deputy PM Khai said that the areas are of Vietnam’s great demand for investment. Vietnam has much experience in participating in multilateral financial institutions, he said, adding that it has shared, long-standing and close bilateral relations with the current member countries of the NDB. He held that this is a foundation for Vietnam to further expand cooperation with the international community, including the NDB, in the future when favourable and appropriate conditions come./.

VNA