PANO – The European Union (EU) will offer a non-refundable aid package, worth €346 million (about US$368 million), to help Vietnam develop sustainable sources of energy. The figure accounts for 86.5 per cent of €400 million that the EU allocates to Vietnam in the period of 2014-2020.

The information was made public at a seminar co-organized by the Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) and the EU in Hanoi on April 15th.

At the meeting

Speaking at the event, MIT’s Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong said, at present, Vietnam is an energy exporter but it would soon become an energy importer with the estimated import volume of 17 million tons of coal, equivalent to 31 per cent of its energy resources by 2020.

Therefore, significant investment and energy-market reforms are essential to meeting the demand, and maintaining energy access for all people at an affordable price, he added.

Meanwhile, Head of the European Union Mission in Vietnam, Ambassador Franz Jessen, held that the EU wanted a direct and result-oriented dialogue with the Vietnamese Government and intends to become a strategic partner and facilitates the smooth and effective implementation of an energy support program.

Notably, the MIT and the EU at the workshop inked a memorandum of understanding to enhance their cooperation on sustainable energy development.

Translated by Pham Huy