Vietnam cooperates with US for responsible agriculture

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam wants to cooperate with the US for a responsible agriculture, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan told outgoing US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink at their working session on April 13.

Hoan spoke highly of the ambassador’s achievements during his working term in Vietnam, which have created a milestone in the development of the bilateral friendship.

Especially, the trade turnover has increased from 51 billion USD to 90 billion USD over the past three years, and is expected to hit 100 billion USD this year, he stressed.

He mentioned the US’s current interest in a number of matters of Vietnamese agriculture, such as fishing, origin of goods, wood products or wildlife protection.

"As the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, I can affirm you that we have made substantial efforts to improve the sector over the past period, which include, first of all, our institutions and policy processes. This demonstrates Vietnam’s view of a responsible agriculture with a national image.”

“This is not only for the US but also for the world to understand that Vietnam is a responsible country, first and foremost with international standards and then towards consumers. Therefore, we will continue to drastically improve our commitments to the US and other countries that have trade relations with Vietnam", said Hoan.

In the coming time, Vietnam will have complete and clear roadmaps to establish a responsible agriculture, eco-agriculture, safe agriculture, he added.

At the meeting, in addition to agriculture, Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink shared that President Biden is highly interested in dealing with climate change and this will be the top priority in his term. Therefore, this may become a new and very important area for cooperation between Vietnam and the US.

"I hope we can consider and form a bilateral climate change working group. Then, we can discuss a number of issues related to dealing with climate change. For example, Vietnam can raise problems and the US can offer plans for support", he said.

He added that some US agencies are also working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Committee on Search and Rescue to strengthen the preparedness to cope natural disasters in Vietnam.

Looking towards the future, the US Ambassador to Vietnam said: “If the Senate approves, from Washington I may get a position to continue promoting bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US, including agricultural trade. I am confident that our partnership will continue to move forward”./.