13:00 21/02/2023

Major potential for Vietnam-Czech business cooperation

Giang Hoang - Phuong Hoa

Businesses from both countries to promote cooperation and support each other in energy.

The Czech – Vietnamese Energy Forum.
The Czech – Vietnamese Energy Forum.

Cooperation between businesses from Vietnam and the Czech Republic has been growing in recent years and there is significant space for further development in the future, especially in the energy field, the Czech - Vietnamese Energy Forum held in Hanoi on February 20 heard.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An said the Czech Republic possesses traditional strengths in energy technology, power generation, and mining, and has a developed mechanical engineering industry and major potential in science and technology. Vietnam, meanwhile, has rapidly increasing electricity / energy demands and a strong energy transition plan.

From the observations of the two parties, energy cooperation clearly has a great deal of potential for development but has not been properly utilized as yet. “ I hope the two sides, and especially their business communities, will actively discuss opportunities and measures to promote effective cooperation in the energy sector,” said Mr. An.

The cooperative relationship has been growing strongly in recent times. The Czech Republic considers Vietnam a very close friend, a like-minded partner and one of the most significant markets outside of Europe,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela. “We have a strong interest in expanding long-term partnerships between EVN [Electricity of Vietnam] and Czech companies in energy engineering and the sharing of know-how in energy transition, in order to help Vietnam achieve the goals in the new Power Development Plan 8."

The Czech Republic boasts a stable scientific and technical foundation and steady economic development, which in turn will support Vietnamese companies. “Companies from the Czech Republic have clever experts, good quality, and practical experience in operating power systems in a challenging context, as the country’s energy sector prepares to phase coal out of the energy mix over the next decade,” said Mr. Vo Quang Lam, Deputy General Director of EVN.

In particular , the energy sectors in the two countries share similarities, with coal remaining the primary source of energy for electricity supply. The experience of the Czech Republic in the power industry, energy transition, net emissions reductions, and the implementation of international commitments on climate change response will be useful for Vietnam in the future.

According to Mr. Aroslav Hanák, President of the Confederation of Industry Associations in Vietnam and Malaysia, he had the privilege of coming to Vietnam with business delegations on several occasions. During that time, the vast number of companies from various sectors accompanying the President of the Czech Republic during his visit to Vietnam in June 2017 illustrated the immense interest of Czech entrepreneurs in doing business with Vietnamese partners.

Similarly, energy and sustainable energy production and distribution are among the core interests of Czech society, so the boosting of cooperation with enterprises in Vietnam’s large energy sector will help the latter boost the sector’s efficiency. “EVN is the leader in energy in Vietnam, and I am glad we can be here today to share our experience and discuss potential co- operation in the future,” Mr. Hanák said.

Czech businesses are also very positive about the Vietnamese market and want to expand their business activities and find partners in the near future. “We would like to find partners and share your and our experience in advising both sides on implementing new energy systems in the two countries,” said Mr. Martin Durčák, Chairman of the Board of Directors at ČEPS.

“Energy is very, very important to regenerate, and that is why we are focusing now on countries such as Vietnam,” said Ms. Barbora Velickova, Sales and Marketing Director at the ARMEX Group.