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

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 isincreasing.

At the forum, representatives fromVietnam Electricity and Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group introducedthe country’s energy demands and projects. They also discussedcooperation possibilities with French partners.

Attending the event, jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industryand Trade and the Business France were representatives from Frenchmanagement agencies and enterprises eyeing business and investmentopportunities in Vietnam.

Business France’sDeputy CEO Henri Baissas highlighted the significance of the forum increating favourable conditions to intensify cooperation and partnershipsbetween the two countries’ energy businesses and their greatcontributions to each country’s economic development.

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

At the forum, representatives from the French Development Agency andBpifrance Export introduced tools supporting exports and investments ofFrench enterprises to help them study markets and carry out investmentprojects in other countries, including Vietnam.-VNA