Highlights:

• The meeting of Deputy Minister, Krzysztof Galos and the Vietnamese government delegation confirmed the strategic importance of Polish-Vietnamese relations in terms of raw materials and the environment. 
• Joint geological research and the CCUS technology development are the key areas for future cooperation. 
• Poland implements the National Exploration Programme for Mineral Deposits as part of the implementation of the European Act on Critical Raw Materials. 
• The 2023 Hanoi Geological Agreement provides the basis for further joint action in the scope of critical raw materials. 

Deputy Minister, Krzysztof Galos has stressed that Vietnam is an important partner for Poland in South-Eastern Asia. We are linked by long-standing ties of cooperation and friendship. He referred to the agreement on cooperation in the field of natural resources and environment between the ministries of Poland and Vietnam, concluded on 28 November 2017, which offers many opportunities for cooperation. The deputy minister focused on the potential associated with joint geological research and cooperation in environmental technology. 

I hope that the joint geological work carried out by the geological services of both countries and cooperation opportunities in the field of the CCUS technology will play a major role in boosting the economy and increasing investment between our countries. 

- Deputy Minister, Krzsztof Galos emphasised. 

In the current era of new technology development, energy and digital transformation, and the needs of the defence industry, we face new challenges in ensuring a stable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The exchange of experience, joint research as well as specific investments in this area are important aspects for ensuring raw material security. 

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Krzysztof Galos indicated the current priorities, which refer to the implementation of the National Raw Material Policy and, above all, the implementation of the European Act on Critical Raw Materials. The European Union aims to ensure a stable supply of critical raw materials through the development of mining, processing and recycling projects both within the EU and with the participation of interested third countries. An important activity in Poland will be the implementation of the National Programme for the Exploration of Mineral Deposits for the production of critical raw materials which may generate new mining investment in the future. 

On 7 November 2023, the agreement between the geological services of both countries was concluded in Hanoi. Deputy Minister Galos has expressed his hope that this is the basis for further activities and joint geological work in Vietnam, including the work on critical raw materials. 

The deputy minister has highlighted that Poland recognises carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) technologies as one of the key tools enabling emission reduction in hard-to-abate sectors, i.e. cement, chemicals, steel, lime, where process emissions cannot be reduced by other means. CCUS complements the energy transition and allows for decarbonisation without deindustrialisation.