A project of Australian Blackstones Minerals Co in Sơn La Province. — Photo laodong.vn

HÀ NỘI — A Việt Nam-Australia business forum is to take place next week to support enterprises of the two countries to seek cooperation opportunities and technology transfer in clean energy, hi-tech agriculture, and digital transformation applications.

The “Việt Nam-Australia Business Cooperation Forum: Technology Transfer and Business Opportunities between Innovation Ecosystems in Australia and Việt Nam” will be organised by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), and Hồ Chí Minh City University of Technology on June 16.

It is supported by the Australia-Việt Nam Enhanced Economic Engagement Grant (AVEG) under which the Government of Australia is committed to providing close to US$2 million to assist small businesses in Việt Nam, starting mid-2021.

The forum, held both in-person in HCM City and on virtual platforms, expects to see the presence of leaders of Việt Nam and Australia as well as experts and business representatives from both sides.

Discussions will focus on the application of digital transformation in search and rescue, climate change response, health care, benefit-sharing scheme in energy projects, preservation of agricultural and aquatic products using solar power, agricultural product traceability using Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart farming solutions, biomethane production from agricultural residues, energy efficiency, and others.

Last November, Việt Nam and Australia adopted the Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy, with the aim of becoming top-ten trading partners and doubling two-way investment.

According to the DFAT, bilateral trade expanded 8.6 per cent annually over the past two decades. In 2020, Australia’s investment into Việt Nam reached A$1.38 billion ($966 million), accounting for 0.51 per cent of the latter’s total FDI.

Australia provided ODA loans worth A$78.9 million to Việt Nam from 2020-21.— VNS