As it is planned for June 18, 2015, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Hanoi, there will be MoU signing ceremony between Vietnam MOIT and the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building on cooperation in energy saving and renewable energy industry.

The Memorandum of Understanding identifies five priority areas of cooperation and 10 forms of cooperation. The forms of cooperation mainly focuses on: Developing specialized regulations as a legal basis to support the enactment of the Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy in Vietnam; Promoting the economical and efficient use of energy in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam; Developing new programs and projects related to the implementation of the National Target Program on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy of Vietnam, Green Growth Strategy as well as relevant policies and national strategies, all of which potentially receive financial support from international donors; Strengthening the technical and organizational capacity for staff of Energy Conservation Office - Ministry of Industry and Trade and other Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade.

The signing ceremony will promote the partnership on the basis of mutual benefits. Vietnam and Denmark will set high priority for co-operation and capacity building between the parties.

Danish side will support Vietnam through expertise exchange, with study tours of the experts, scientists, private companies and other relevant units, to share experiences on energy issues, especially energy savings and renewable energy.

After the signing ceremony, the Commemorate Medal shall be granted to His Excellency John Neilsen, Danish Ambassador for his outstanding contributions in the development cause of Vietnam's Industry and Trade Sector.

Since 2011, Vietnam and Denmark have established strategic partnership in the field of climate change response, environment, energy and green growth. Vietnam and Denmark have also initiated long term dialogues term on Low Carbon Transition in Energy Efficiency in Vietnam energy sector, with focused support to the National Target Program on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy Program (VNEEP) during the 2013-2015 period.

The Low Carbon Transition in Energy Efficiency Project (LCEE Project) is the evidence for the cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark in the energy sector. The project sets a target to raise awareness about energy savings in roughly 500-1000 small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, it is the joint efforts in implementation of 150-250 sub-projects of energy savings and support to 5 provinces to promulgate local policies and programs on energy efficiency.

The project has a capital fund of VND110 billion from the Danish government to support small and medium-sized enterprises in 3 sectors: brick, ceramics and food processing so that they can access to preferential loans. The participating enterprises in the project will receive technical assistance and financial support including: support for energy audits, support for loan security of 50% of the capital and the maximum bonus payment of up to 30% of borrowed value.

Trong Tan