The two sides reached agreement on early signing of necessary agreements to enable the groundbreaking of Nuclear Power Plant 1 in Vietnam as planned.

Vietnam and Russia agreed to accelerate exchanges and negotiations, aiming for the early signing
of necessary agreements to enable the groundbreaking of Nuclear Power Plant 1
in Vietnam as planned.

The
agreement reached during a meeting on October 27 between Prime Minister Pham
Minh Chinh and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk in Malaysia on the
sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

Vietnam has decided to resume  the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, with an estimated
completion timeframe of five years. The Ninh Thuan 1 plant will be located in
Phuoc Dinh commune while the Ninh Thuan 2 plant will be in
Vinh Hai commune. EVN and PVN will serve as the respective
investors for these two plants.

The development of power sources, including nuclear power, is
crucial to ensuring energy security and meeting the demand of double-digit
economic growth in the coming period. Vietnam has also committed to achieving
net-zero emissions by 2050, necessitating an early transition to green, clean,
and renewable energy.

During the meeting, PM Chinh also requested the Russian Government to increase scholarships for Vietnamese
students, especially in fields where Vietnam has a high demand, such as basic
science and engineering, and civil nuclear energy.

In addition
to the nuclear power project, both sides agreed to promote trade cooperation,
ensuring balance and creating favorable conditions for each other’s goods to
access markets, particularly agricultural products, food, and foodstuffs. They
also committed to enhancing economic connectivity in transportation and
infrastructure, including promoting railway links.

Furthermore,
the Prime Minister also urged Russia to open its market further to Vietnamese
exports and expressed hope that Russia and other members of the Eurasian Economic
Union would remove threshold safeguard measures against Vietnamese goods.

Vneconomy-Linh Ngọc