Prime Minister receives Chairman of the world's largest oil and gas corporation Saudi Aramco

The Prime Minister encouraged Saudi Aramco to cooperate and invest in Vietnam in oil refining, warehousing, and distribution, not only for Vietnam but also for the region and the world .

Saudi Arabian officials welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

According to a special correspondent of the Vietnam News Agency, on the occasion of attending the 8th Future Investment Initiative Conference and visiting and working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the afternoon of October 29 (local time), in the capital Riyadh, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Amin Al-Nasser, Chairman and General Director of Saudi Arabian Oil and Gas Group (Saudi Aramco) - one of the largest enterprises in terms of scale and revenue in the world, with revenue in 2023 reaching nearly 500 billion USD and total assets reaching over 660 billion USD.

Saudi Aramco Chairman and CEO Amin Al-Nasser congratulated Vietnam on its great achievements in socio-economic development in recent years; and stated that Aramco is very interested in the Asian market, including Vietnam.

He said that Vietnam is a potential and important market in the region, so Aramco wishes to invest in petrochemical refining and petroleum distribution in Vietnam; he asked the Prime Minister and Vietnamese ministries, branches and localities to create favorable conditions for Saudi Aramco to promote successful cooperation with Vietnamese partners.

Appreciating Saudi Aramco Group's interest and plans to cooperate in investing in Vietnam, specifically in cooperation with the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), initially in the field of oil and gas trade, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam is a country with a long coastline of more than 3,000 km, a favorable location to access the large market in Asia.

Besides, Vietnam is a country with potential and is developing the oil and gas industry in both exploitation, refining and trading. In particular, PVN is an oil and gas group with a lot of experience, abundant and high-quality labor resources; is a potential partner, with many oil and gas projects in the downstream, midstream and upstream that can cooperate.

The Prime Minister suggested that Saudi Aramco and PVN continue discussions to reach a high level of consensus and develop concrete cooperation projects. In particular, the Prime Minister encouraged Saudi Aramco to cooperate in investing in Vietnam in oil refining, warehousing, and distribution, not only for Vietnam but also for the region and the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Aramco participate in investment in Vietnam's oil and gas sector, especially in Vietnam's large-scale petrochemical projects, and develop trade cooperation in the field of oil, gas, and petrochemical products such as crude oil, liquefied natural gas, plastic pellets, fertilizers, etc.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam is stepping up efforts to improve the investment environment, reform administrative procedures towards transparency, reduce compliance costs, decentralize and delegate power, and promote investment in developing strategic infrastructure towards open institutions, smooth infrastructure, and smart governance to reduce costs and increase competitiveness for products and businesses; and pledged to accompany and create favorable conditions for foreign investors, including Saudi Aramco Group and Saudi Arabian enterprises, to invest and do business effectively and sustainably.

Thanking the Prime Minister for his guidance and support for Saudi Aramco's investment in Vietnam, Saudi Aramco Chairman Amin Al-Nasser said he will continue to actively negotiate with PVN and soon send working delegations in various fields to Vietnam to explore cooperation and investment opportunities, through specific projects as suggested by the Prime Minister.

Immediately after the meeting, in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, PVN and Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of oil and gas trade.

Source