On March 13, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi met with Nicola Beer, vice president of European Investment Bank (EIB), along with senior leaders from EIB at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Hanoi.

The meeting overview. Photo: thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn

The two sides discussed matters related to an MoU on financial support for achieving the goals of the Political Declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with Vietnam. This MoU will provide the bedrock for both sides to commence negotiations for a framework agreement.

To date, the negotiations have not yet progressed because the EIB has not yet sent the necessary draft framework agreement.

The MoF has therefore suggested the EIB reconsider not specifying particular projects eligible for the €500 million funding. Instead, the framework agreement should only outline priority areas for the potential funding in the framework agreement, allowing EIB to complete the draft framework agreement earlier, paving the way for negotiation.

The deputy minister also requested that the EIB clarify the EU’s form of aid for projects to be funded by the EIB and provide specific lending terms.

Additionally, the deputy minister proposed that the EIB and Vietnam sign a new-generation official development assistance agreement with larger financial scale, more favourable interest rates, simplified procedures, and less stringent conditions.

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Chi declared Vietnam’s strong commitment to green transformation and energy transition.

EIB vice president Nicola Beer stated that as a leading global bank, EIB has forged financial cooperative relations with Vietnam since 1997, supporting infrastructure construction, environmental protection, and energy development in the country.

She stressed that with its ability to raise funds from EU countries and financial institutions, the EIB was willing to assist Vietnam through specific projects.

The EIB executive also proposed that Vietnam stimulate private businesses to participate in projects benefitting from the €500 million fund to achieve the goals set in the JETP Declaration.