The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham Vietnam) has hosted the Green Economy Forum & Exhibition (GEFE) from 28 to 30 November 2022 in Ho Chi Minh City. 

The major purpose of the event was to assist Vietnam in meeting its COP26 obligations as well as the socioeconomic development targets outlined in its National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030. These main targets were also highlighted by HE Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his opening speech.

Recognizing the importance of green and sustainable industrial development, Mr Florian Beranek (UNIDO) was invited to take over the role of the moderator in a high-level open discussion on “Green Financing: Banks support to the private sector to reduce GHG emissions”. 

The panel was led by Mrs Pham Thi Thanh Tung (Deputy Director General of the State Bank of Vietnam SBV) and completed by (from left) Mr. Raphaël De Guerre (Proparco AFD Group), Mr Vuong Thanh Long (Executive Vice President, Head of FDI Banking Department, BIDV) and Mr Olivier Rousselet (CEO BNP Parisbas Vietnam). The more than one-hour discussion attracted an audience of around 100 people in a packed meeting room.

During the discussion reliable indicators, standards and legal frameworks for green industries and eco-industrial parks were discussed. All participants echoed such an urgent need in order to make green finance a strong instrument to support Vietnam’s inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

During the afternoon of the first day of GEFE, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) in conjunction with VIETRADE invited to the National Export Promotion Forum. This Forum was supported by SIPPO, the Swiss import promotion program in Vietnam. Based on the long-year cooperation between Switzerland and UNIDO we were invited to talk about “Green standards for export market development”.

It was another good opportunity to highlight UNIDO’s work on Eco-Industrial Parks, Quality Infrastructure and trade promotion supported by Switzerland.