The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the ceremony on September 25 for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on international projects aiming to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in the presence of Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn and Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Nguyen Vu Tung, and representatives of relevant affiliations.

The abovementioned international projects will support facility investments for Korean companies' endeavors to reduce GHG emissions, with goals to achieve the reduction of 37.5 million tons in overseas activities as part of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

MOTIE has selected four projects, which are projected to attract KRW 27 billion in investment and reduce 10.3 million tons of GHG over the project's lifespan. From the government's contribution of 5.9 billion won, GHG mitigation of approximately 260,000 tons is anticipated overseas. Three of the four projects involve cooperation with Vietnam, while one project involves that with Uzbekistan. For Vietnam, this is the first bilateral project with Korea and a follow-up measure to the MOU signed in June within the framework of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Trade Minister Ahn stressed that "this pilot project is the first outcome from the solid trust between the two countries through the Framework Agreement and the MOU, and sets the stage for broadening collaboration with the governments of Vietnam and Uzbekistan."

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung and the Counsellor at the Embassy of Uzbekistan Alisher Abdusalomov respectively expressed their hopes for strengthened cooperation with Korea in carbon neutrality sectors such as energy transition and process improvement.

MOTIE plans to post an announcement for 2024 projects early next year and propose to increase the government budget from this year's six billion won to 33 billion won.