Vietnam and the European Union (EU) will discuss green growth in their under-negotiations free trade agreement (FTA), said Jacques Bouflet, minister counselor and head of the trade and economic affairs section at the Delegation of the EU to Vietnam. He made the statement at a recent press conference in Hanoi to introduce Green-Biz 2013, which comprises a conference and exhibition on the green solutions scheduled to take place in Hanoi Sept 19-20. Green growth will be an important chapter in the FTA. The chapter will mention solutions for entities to obtain priorities through credit supporting programs or credit subsidies to balance the benefits for the related sides, he said. Both EU and Vietnam have agreed to offer the highest priorities to companies applying green technologies and making environmentally-friendly products, Mr. Bouflet highlighted. European consumers are favoring green products and obviously Vietnamese customers will also adopt this trend in the future. Green technologies are costly with huge investments needed but investing in sustainable development is the most cost-saving way but creating highest economic efficiency, he noted. Currently, capital shortage is regarded as the biggest challenge for Vietnamese firms in green solution applications. Preben Hjortlund, chairman of EuroCham Vietnam, meanwhile informed that most countries joining the Green-Biz 2013 all have financial solutions to support Vietnamese companies. A representative of a Swedish firm said “We not only pledge to provide non-refundable aids or soft loans for Vietnamese firms but also want to set up business cooperation with them on a fair basis.” Vietnam is the first developing country in the Asia-Pacific region to independently formulate its own green growth strategy as rapid economic development over the past decades has caused severe environmental degradation. Vietnam’s green growth strategy has received funding from international institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Denmark, South Korea and the World Bank. (thesaigontimes.vn Sept 8)
