Vietnam and Finland pledged to strengthen their cooperation in promoting renewable energy development in the Mekong Region through the energy and environment partnership program.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade finalized a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on August 17 for the program, signifying both countries’ commitment in the field of clean energy and environmental protection.
The Mekong Region, made up of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, boasts not only of a rich pot of renewable energy resources, but also of a rapidly growing energy requirement.
The partnership program will offer grants and other funding incentives for projects, studies and capacity developments that promote the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies in the region. It will also spearhead the creation of sustainable financing mechanisms for renewable energy services.
The Finnish government and the Nordic Development Fund will provide 7.9 million euros ($9.96 million) for the program.
The Mekong program is based on an existing program that has been operating in Central America since 2004. In early 2008, the Finnish government deployed a mission to the Mekong region to evaluate its potential to become an area for sustainable development and climate change mitigation.
A regional workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2008 determined the region’s interest in establishing an energy and environment program similar to that in Central America.
After the workshop, government officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, drafted an initial program document. Participants agreed to pursue the cooperation by establishing a regional coordination office within the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok.
The program has announced two calls for project proposals since its creation in late 2009. Nine were selected to receive funding, including biomass and energy efficiency projects in Vietnam; capacity building and hydropower projects in Laos; energy conservation, energy efficiency and solar projects in Cambodia; and a biofuel project in Thailand.
The program’s second call runs until September 10.
