Vietnam and France have had a number of cooperative activities in energy, including oil and gas exploration, exploitation and processing as well as technology transfer, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung at a forum in Paris on July 7.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung at the forum.

However, Hung noted that cooperation has yet to meet its potential, as French companies have advantages in science and technology, management capacity and finance and Vietnam’s energy demand is increasing.

At the forum, representatives from Vietnam Electricity and Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group introduced the country’s energy demands and projects. They also discussed cooperation possibilities with French partners.

Attending the event, jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Business France were representatives from French management agencies and enterprises eyeing business and investment opportunities in Vietnam.

Business France’s Deputy CEO Henri Baissas highlighted the significance of the forum in creating favourable conditions to intensify cooperation and partnerships between the two countries’ energy businesses and their great contributions to each country’s economic development.

Today, France’s leading enterprises operating in this field, such as Alstom, EDF, ENGIE, AREVA and Technip, are present in Vietnam and have participated in many projects, including the Dung Quat oil refinery plant and the Son My 1 thermal power plant, he stated.

At the forum, representatives from the French Development Agency and Bpifrance Export introduced tools supporting exports and investments of French enterprises to help them study markets and carry out investment projects in other countries, including Vietnam.

VNA