Vietnam is looking to Germany for supporting its exports to the European Union, particularly seafood, rice, tea, coffee, and fruits, Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat told his host, Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt, in Berlin on January 19.

Minister Phat expressed his appreciation for Germany’s support to Vietnam over the past years, saying that he hopes the two countries continue to strengthen their bilateral ties, especially in agriculture.

He also hopes to intensify cooperation in climate change adaptation, ecosystem protection, and forestry development, he stated, suggesting Germany facilitate training for Vietnamese agricultural officials and farmers.

For his part, Minister Schmidt spoke highly of recent achievements in Vietnam and pledged to continue promoting bilateral relations, particularly in agro-forestry. He plans to discuss the signing of specific cooperative documents with relevant German offices and the corresponding Vietnamese partners.

Minister Schmidt also committed to visiting Vietnam to continue discussions on further cooperative efforts.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Berlin, Minister Phat hailed the importance of promoting bilateral trade, as Germany is not only a big importer of Vietnamese goods, but also a central EU market. Vietnam has much to learn from Germany’s technologies, especially those involving product processing and preservation, he added.

Earlier, he visited Vietnam’s Dong Xuan Trade Centre in Berlin to meet with Vietnamese import businesses there and discuss cooperation possibilities with export companies at home.

The import enterprises suggested improving product quality and design as well as standardising processing and packing steps to facilitate increased exports.-VNA