BRICS as a platform for Gulf-facing energy diplomacy
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung met Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on 13 September 2026 in New Delhi. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit hosted by India. The Vietnamese government’s readout stresses that Riyadh remains one of Hanoi’s major partners in the Middle East. The Prime Minister called for bilateral ties to deepen in an effective and practical way.
The timing matters. Vietnam is attending the summit as one of the BRICS 10 partners. It is using that visibility to link multilateral engagement with targeted energy diplomacy. According to Vietnam Government News, Le Minh Hung proposed that the two countries form a joint working group to discuss energy reserves and specific energy cooperation projects.
Vietnamese and French press reports add that he backed Saudi Arabia’s proposal to structure this group. He also called for stronger energy links alongside wider trade and investment ties. By contrast, Saudi coverage emphasises that both sides reviewed bilateral relations and discussed opportunities in economic, trade and tourism cooperation, along with closer business-to-business partnerships.
This is more than protocol. The meeting places Vietnam Saudi energy cooperation inside a broader agenda that spans hydrocarbons, logistics and potential future work on storage and transition-related projects. One analyst observation stands out: Vietnam is quietly positioning itself as a natural downstream partner for Saudi capital in Asia’s next phase of energy security and transition.
What does closer Vietnam Saudi energy cooperation mean for investors?
The proposal for a joint working group on energy reserves gives institutional investors a clear signal. Future deals could move well beyond ad-hoc cargo flows. Vietnam has already seen Saudi petrochemical and polymer suppliers price aggressively into its domestic market in 2026, using short-lead shipments to cover local deficits in products such as polyethylene. This shows active commercial energy trade between the two countries, even if it sits largely in private-sector supply chains rather than headline state-to-state projects.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is ramping up its own energy transition work. The Vietnam Petroleum Institute, part of Petrovietnam, signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2026 with TÜV SÜD Vietnam. The agreement covers co-development of technical solutions that support the country’s energy transition. Petrovietnam itself reported estimated total revenue of VND 734.7 trillion (about US$29.7 billion) in the first half of 2026, up 49 percent year-on-year, with consolidated revenue of VND 445.4 trillion (about US$18 billion), up 39 percent, according to company figures. These numbers show a domestic energy champion with scale, cash generation and an explicit interest in Middle Eastern and African expansion.
By contrast, Saudi Arabia brings surplus capital and a strong external position. Data from the General Authority for Statistics show the Kingdom recorded a trade surplus of SR154.72 billion (about US$41 billion) in the first half of 2026, up 53 percent from SR101.01 billion (around US$27 billion) a year earlier. Saudi Vision 2030 also encourages diversified overseas energy and industrial investments, including in Asia. Therefore, the idea of a structured Vietnam Saudi energy working group sits neatly between Vietnamese demand for secure supply and transition funding, and Saudi Arabia’s search for credible, high-growth outlets for its capital.
Vietnam’s broader investment momentum reinforces the appeal. Vietnam’s FDI surpassed US$40 billion in just eight months of 2026, reflecting deep foreign confidence in the country’s growth trajectory — and energy infrastructure is a growing share of that inflow.
Where Gulf capital could flow next
For Gulf investors, the signal is twofold. First, BRICS gives Vietnam an additional diplomatic channel to foreground energy cooperation with key partners such as Riyadh, alongside its existing ties with India, China and Russia. Second, the specific focus on energy reserves and project-level cooperation suggests potential follow-on activity in hydrocarbons storage, petrochemical value chains and, in time, renewables or carbon management. Vietnam is already exploring regional opportunities in areas such as carbon capture and storage.
The next phase will depend on how quickly the proposed working group turns into concrete mandates for national oil companies, utilities and private-sector developers. Investors should watch for joint announcements between Petrovietnam and Saudi entities, shifts in Saudi export patterns to Vietnam, and BRICS-linked energy transition projects that tie Gulf capital to Vietnamese infrastructure and industrial growth.
Quick answers
At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 13 September 2026, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed that Vietnam and Saudi Arabia form a joint working group to discuss energy reserves and specific energy cooperation projects.
Petrovietnam reported estimated total revenue of approximately US$29.7 billion in the first half of 2026, up 49 percent year-on-year, making it a scaled domestic energy champion with clear capacity to partner on Gulf-linked projects.
Saudi Arabia recorded a trade surplus of about US$41 billion in the first half of 2026, up 53 percent year-on-year according to the General Authority for Statistics, giving Riyadh significant capital available for overseas energy and industrial investments under Saudi Vision 2030.
