A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is on a working visit to Malaysia and Indonesia from May 23-29 to speed up cooperation in agriculture in general and fisheries in particular.

During their two-day stay in Malaysia, the Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Minister and Head of the General Department of Fisheries Vu Van Tam, held talks with Malaysian Deputy Minister of Agriculture M. Johari Baharom during which the two sides discussed the contents of fisheries cooperation.

The two sides agreed to include these contents into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cultivation, animal husbandry and seafood, which is expected to be signed in the earliest time.

They also proposed cooperation contents in aquaculture, seafood trading, and management of vessels and fishing control systems as well as discussed information exchange and coordination in cases the two countries’ fishing boats and fishermen are seized.

The Vietnamese delegation visited fishing management and control systems in Malaysia in order to serve the country’s building of a national fishing control project.

In Indonesia , on May 26, the Vietnamese guests held talks with a delegation from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAAF) led by Director General for Control of Marine Resources and Fisheries Syahrin Abdurrahman.

The two sides discussed plans to implement a MoU signed between MARD and MOMAAF in October 2010, cooperation in solving cases of fishing boats and fishermen seized by the two countries in line with their laws, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and in the spirit of close cooperation among ASEAN member countries and humanitarian treatment for fishermen.

The two sides agreed to soon set up a joint technical committee (JTC) in the fisheries sector and carry out periodic and rotating meetings between the two countries’ JTCs./.