Ho Chi Minh City is looking to expand cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in energy, oil and gas, logistics and finance, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said at a meeting with Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri, Minister of State at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on October 28.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026.

Duoc expressed the city’s hope that the UAE will bring its strengths in energy and finance to support investment in Ho Chi Minh City, and connect financial institutions and banks with the Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC).

In the energy sector, the city plans to develop an energy hub in the Ba Ria–Vung Tau area, focusing on oil and gas storage, liquefied gas, oil and gas exploitation and processing, petrochemicals and energy production.

The official called on major UAE energy groups to consider investing in the project, which aims to establish an energy hub in southern Vietnam to serve domestic and regional markets.

Le Manh Cuong, CEO of the Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam), said the firm already has a representative office and technical assets operating in the UAE. It plans to establish two business entities in the country in 2026 to expand cooperation with UAE energy companies, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).

Vietnam has the capacity to build and manufacture oil storage facilities and offshore drilling platforms, while its two oil refineries can process various types of crude oil from the UAE, Cuong said, adding that these capabilities provide a basis for the two sides to explore a cooperation model under which the Vietnamese side develop storage infrastructure and UAE partners supply crude oil.

Al Hajeri said Vietnam–UAE relations have considerable room for further development, particularly in energy and logistics.

Amid fluctuations in global oil and gas markets and supply chains, diversifying storage systems, developing logistics networks and building refineries closer to consumer markets have become increasingly important, he noted.

He said Vietnam is a potential partner in energy storage and expressed his hope that the two countries will expand cooperation in finance and other sectors where they have strengths, helping elevate bilateral relations to a new level.

Source: VNA

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