VN, Saudi Arabia promote energy cooperation

VGP - Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi held talks with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vũ Huy Hoàng in Hà Nội on June 9. The two sides came into agreement to jointly establish legal frameworks in many fields, especially energy.

June 10, 2009 7:00 AM GMT+7

Photo: VGP

Since setting up diplomatic relations in 1999, the bilateral relationship between Việt Nam and Saudi Arabia has been promoted strongly. Việt Nam’s export turnover to Saudi Arabia reached US $118 million and import turnover was US $173 million in 2008. In the first half of 2009, these figures were estimated at US $28 million and US $65 million respectively.

Saudi Arabia committed to give favorable conditions for the two nations’ businesses to involve in petroleum projects. It is also ready to take part in projects on training workforce and petroleum services as well as building petrochemical works.

Minister Vũ Huy Hoàng stressed that Việt Nam will supply agro-produce such as rice, tea and coffee to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, in its turn, will provide crude oil to Việt Nam and welcomes Vietnamese businesses to invest in mineral exploitation, oil refinery and marketing. In addition, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will ask its Government to establish a cooperation mechanism with Việt Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Minister Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi declared that Saudi Arabia acknowledged Việt Nam as a market economy.

By Thùy Dung