The 10th Sea Dialogue discusses green transition opportunities

Attending the Dialogue were 16 speakers from 10 countries (Singapore, India, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, UK, Australia, USA and Viet Nam), who are experts in various fields from law international, energy, marine environment..., as well as delegates who are domestic and international experts, representatives of central and local agencies, foreign representative agencies in Viet Nam and businesses operating in the energy sector. This diversity helps the Dialogue to share many practical experiences of previous countries and attract many valuable recommendations for the development of offshore renewable energy in Southeast Asia and Viet Nam.

Focusing on the offshore renewable energy sector, the 10^th Sea Dialogue consists of four sessions with the themes: Offshore renewable energy and geopolitics; Convention on the Law of the Sea and Offshore Renewable Energy; Regional and international practice on offshore renewable energy; and policy recommendations on offshore renewable energy development in the East Sea.

This is an opportunity for domestic and foreign delegates to discuss the potential for offshore renewable energy development in Viet Nam in particular and in the East Sea in general, the legal framework as well as the impact of this activity on the fields from geopolitics, economics to energy security.

Speaking at the Dialogue, Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized that Viet Nam is committed to joining humanity's common efforts to promote clean energy, as demonstrated through its commitments at COP26 and Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). At the same time affirming that Viet Nam is an attractive market for investment in this field and hopes to attract the participation and support of foreign partners through investment, technology, finance and capacity building to realize the goal of building a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

In the sessions of the Dialogue, the speakers focused on discussing the legal framework governing offshore renewable energy exploitation, specifically wind power, and identified UNCLOS as the overarching legal framework, is the foundation to help countries have a balanced approach between developing renewable energy offshore and maintaining common interests in the governance and use of the sea.

The dialogue also discussed the practice of developing the offshore renewable energy industry in Viet Nam and some other countries in the region, as well as making policy recommendations. It emphasizes the need to learn from successful regional and international models in offshore renewable energy development to ensure sustainability, safety and inclusiveness.

According to the speakers, transnational cooperation is the "key" for offshore renewable energy development in the East Sea. Countries should have policies to encourage the use of new technologies, support infrastructure development, train high-quality human resources and provide appropriate financial support, and minimize risks for investors to offshore renewable energy in general and offshore wind power in particular can continue to develop, contributing to the region's efforts to reduce emissions to zero.

Sea Dialogue is an initiative of the Diplomatic Academy to connect scientists to discuss marine science, combine policy discussions and legal frameworks towards sustainable marine governance. Up to now, the Academy has successfully organized 10 Dialogues and received many positive responses from the participants. Many quality publications have been published from the Dialogue contents.