To Lam seeks EU support on green standards and technology ties
Vietnam’s leader proposed joint research centres and greater European investment in infrastructure and logistics during his visit to Belgium.
Vietnamese leader To Lam urged the European Union to help Vietnamese companies meet environmental requirements and expand cooperation in investment and technology, setting out his proposals in Brussels on October 23.
Lam, Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary and President, spoke at Egmont – The Royal Institute for International Relations while visiting Belgium officially. He sought EU technical assistance for businesses adapting to green standards including CBAM and EUDR, and encouraged European funds to invest more in Vietnamese logistics and strategic infrastructure.
His technology proposals included research and development centres jointly established to work on biotechnology, semiconductors and responsible AI. He identified Belgium, home to semiconductor research centre IMEC, as a focus for cooperation and advocated stronger links among technology ecosystems and startup networks.
Lam also urged closer collaboration on supply-chain security, cybersecurity and maritime security. On energy and climate, he proposed speeding up the green transition while ensuring a just energy transition, involving companies and local authorities, with particular attention to climate change in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.
Education and training were further priorities, with Lam proposing deeper university cooperation and exchanges between people. He said Vietnam, in its role coordinating ASEAN–EU relations, was prepared to help strengthen cooperation between the two regions.
