Vietnam, with its dynamic growth and increasing demand for effectiveenergy management, urban infrastructure and electronic traffic systems,is a potential partner for Finland in the field of smart city building,Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Jan Vapaavuori has said.

In a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on October 21, the officialpointed to the flipside of Vietnam’s progressing development, namelyan array of challenges posed by rapid urbanisation, such asinfrastructure overloading, environmental pollution, public safety, andgovernmental reform.

Finland is willing to share itsexpertise and technologies, and act as a trustworthy partner for theSoutheast Asian country, he added.

Jan Vapaavuoripointed out that Finnish and Vietnamese companies have cooperated in thefields of water management and road design, a basis for them to expandtheir partnership to the application of green technology, digitaltechnology, and education in order to build smart cities in Vietnam.

Finnish experts said urbanisation has helped liftmillions of people out of poverty, yet it also caused environmentalpollution, traffic congestion and a decline in living space. Buildingsmart cities is an urgent and suitable solution to these problems.

Vice Chairman of HCM City’s People’s Committee Le Manh Ha said as amajor Vietnamese city, the locality needs to come up with solutions to arange of issues. In response, HCM City is learning from Finland’s experience and technologies in an effort to manage water resources,waste and other urban matters effectively.

Duringthe meeting, Vietnamese and Finnish experts and businesses discussedsmart cities, the role of education in development, sustainableplanning, and opportunities and challenges of developing smart cities.-VNA