Denmark has launched a new development aid program focusing on green growth and clean technology in Vietnam, the Danish Embassy in Hanoi announced Tuesday.

Denmark has launched a new development aid program focusing on green growth and clean technology in Vietnam, the Danish Embassy in Hanoi announced Tuesday.

The Bussiness Partnership Program (DBP) aims to support sustainable development and contribute to poverty reduction in the partner countries of the Danish International Development Agency, the embassy said in a statement.

The project supports the establishment of commercial partnerships between Danish and Vietnamese companies in order to improve business competencies in Vietnam, with a focus on green growth and clean technology.

“Denmark is one of the leading countries within solutions for climate change, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, which are areas that Vietnam has expressed a great interest in increasing cooperation within,” said John Nielsen, the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam.

“Vietnam needs to work towards focusing more on sustainability and green growth as part of its development model. This is crucial as renewable energy and in general a green growth focus has the potential to deliver millions of new jobs, introduce transfer high value-adding technology to Vietnam, and diversify economic development,” he said.

The DBP replaced the B2B/IPD programs, which granted US$67 million to Vietnam and assisted in the establishment of approximately 255 small start-up projects and almost 150 long-term partnerships since 1997, the Danish embassy said.