– Edited By Chris Reed –
A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, led by Deputy Minister Do Huu Hao, ended a visit to France on Saturday after discussions on nuclear power generation and the nation's successes in using energy sources more effectively.
At a working session with Christian De Gromard, head of the French Development Agency's energy projects, the two sides reviewed the agency's operations and projects on energy saving, while also discussing plans to improve energy use in Vietnam.
The French Development Agency pledged to support Viet Nam's efforts to save energy and use experiences the agency has drawn from its projects in Indonesia.
Deputy Minister Hao introduced Vietnam's newly-approved law on energy saving to French Development Agency officials and urged the agency to assist the country in drafting practical sub-law documents.
During the trip, the Vietnamese delegation also held discussions with Othman Salhi, Vice President for Asia of the AREVA group – a leading provider of solutions for carbon-free power generation.
Salhi discussed the AREVA group and its experiences in designing, building and operating nuclear power reactors as well as its capacity in providing nuclear fuel rods, treating and preserving nuclear waste and producing uranium.
He said AREVA wanted to co-operate with Vietnam in developing nuclear power.
Hao told his host that Vietnam was willing to join with other nations that have nuclear technology and are able to provide nuclear fuel rods while also safely treating and disposing of nuclear waste.
The Deputy Minister said he highly valued AREVA's know-how in consultancy, supervision and human resources development, adding that these experiences would be useful to Vietnam when it builds its first nuclear power reactor.
AREVA would have the opportunity to co-operate with Vietnamese partners in different aspects as Vietnam plans to construct a series of nuclear power plants from now until 2035, said Hao.