On November 14, 2017, Vietnamese Minister of the Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Luxembourgian Minister for Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Action Romain Schneider signed the Framework Agreement on bilateral co-operation on behalf of the governments of the two countries, focusing on the fields of climate change and sustainable energy.
Vietnam and Luxembourg have been maintaining diplomatic relations since 1973. The first development co-operation was established in 1993. From 1994 to 2015, Luxembourg provided EUR124 million ($146.4 million) to a total of 80 development projects in Vietnam under three General Co-operation Agreements.
At the signing ceremony, Minister Dung applauded the contributions of non-refundable ODA that the Luxembourgian government provided for Vietnam in the last two decades.
“Programmes and projects using non-refundable ODA from Luxembourgian government have promoted efficiency and positively contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development,” said Dung.
| Project name | Capital (Euro) | Period |
| Irrigation Cao Bang—rational water consumption and agriculture | 5,500,000 | 2014-2019 |
| Climate Adapted Local Development and Innovation | 8,000,000 | 2013-2017 |
| Supporting the consolidation of the Vietnamese securities market and improving training capacities | 3,000,000 | 2014-2018 |
| Technical assistance to the IFAD Tam Nong support project | 2,000,000 | 2014-2017 |
| Bac Kan vocational training and education | 2,500,000 | 2016-2017 |
| BBI scholarships | 1,260,000 | 2016-2019 |
| Some on-going projects | ||
Minister Schneider said that the Luxembourgian government hopes to diversify the relations between the two countries in order to go beyond the traditional donor-recipient relationship and to base the bilateral partnership fully on an approach of exchange and mutual interest in the future.
The new bilateral co-operation agreement will allow for a broader and more diversified co-operation between the two countries. Various projects can be implemented through this co-operation agreement that allows for more variety in their nature and in co-operation with any ministry in Luxembourg.
The new co-operation agreement can therefore cover different topics, such as climate change, energy, medical research, banking and finance. The two projects that are in the pipeline on climate change and energy in co-operation with Luxembourg’s Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure are expected to be started soon after this agreement has been signed.
“Luxembourg’s financial contribution to Vietnam in 2017 will remain at a similar level as in the previous years,” said Minister Schneider.
