The event, held by the Sweden International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, introduced power-efficient production models as results of a programme on power use for production in Vietnam ’s rural areas as well as foreign experiences in the field.

The conference is part of the Vietnam-Sweden Rural Energy Programme (VSRE) built on an agreement signed by the two governments in 2003.

The VSRE aimed to improve the capacity of central, provincial and district-level organisations in implementing policies on renewable energy in rural areas, set up appropriate technical standards and mechanism for supplying safe power services, seeking financial sources to accelerate rural electrification through the use of renewable energy, and providing knowledge of energy use for production in rural areas.

The VSRE also built on a trial basis five small-scale hydroelectricity-power projects and a solar energy project in Ha Giang province and the central province of Quang Nam.