NA leader hosts special advisor to Japanese Cabinet

Welcoming Maeda Tadashi to return to Vietnam after his latest visit in July 2022, NA Chairman Hue said that this is a chance for the two sides to further promote the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, as well as the cooperation between ASEAN and Japan.

He thanked the Japanese official for sharing his ideas on current important issues, especially in energy transition. The Vietnamese top legislator underlined that it is an inevitable and objective process, contributing to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals with no country standing outside. He noted that at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Vietnam made a strong commitment to the international community to achieve net-zero emission by 2050.

NA Chairman Hue highlighted the significance of ensuring energy security, stressing that energy transition should be made to suit the reality in each country.

Holding that energy transition is a global issue, he said that countries with slower development like Vietnam needs support from the international community in three aspects - building institution, legal and policy system; technologies and techniques; and finance.

He said that Vietnam highly values the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) initiative by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, adding that the country is working hard to implement specific cooperation activities with Japan in the field.

Agreeing with the Japanese official on the need to set up a joint working group for AZEC implementation, Hue affirmed that the Vietnamese NA is willing to send officials from its committees to join the group.

He suggested that Vietnam and Japan make substantial cooperation to build and maintain strategic supply chains, including that on energy.

Underlining that the two countries have great potential in biomass power development, Hue said that they should cooperate more closely in converting energy production plants from coal to biomass fuel according to a certain roadmap, while working together in the supply chain of projects related to gas energy and coordinating closely in developing wind power and solar power suitable to climate change situation in Vietnam and Asia.

For his part, Maeda Tadashi said that after his Vietnam visit in 2022, he has become Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan in promoting carbon neutralisation.

He said that at G20’s meetings in 2022, Japan mentioned the AZEC. Meanwhile, the G7 has also focused on implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). In order to realise the JETP, the JBIC has committed to supporting 300 million USD through Vietcombank to implement projects in the field of renewable energy. In the JETP, Japan has also offered soft loans, he added.

He underlined that Japan is drastically implementing the AZEC, while making a large investment in a fund for new energy resource research. Vietnamese firms can join their Japanese peers to conduct researches on new energy resource development using this fund, he stated.

The JBIC Chairman said that Japan, the US and Australia will work together to support Vietnam in mitigating climate change impacts, adding Japan has set up a framework to assist Vietnam in this field.