Vietnam and Poland have agreed to establish closer ties in agriculture, thus contributing to promoting the two governments’ cooperation.

The agreement was made during talks between Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development stated Cao Duc Phat and his Polish counterpart Marek Wasicki in Hanoi on Dec. 4.

Minister Phat praised Poland for its agricultural achievements and said he hoped that Poland would work closely with Vietnam in areas that it is strong in such as veterinary services, control on the quality of agricultural, forestry and aquaculture products and animal husbandry.

Vietnam gives its agricultural industry top priority, particularly in land acquisitions and tax benefits, said the Minister, adding that his Ministry is willing to facilitate Polish firms investing and doing business in Vietnam .

As a member of the European Union, Poland ’s cooperation in the production, processing and export of Vietnamese products to the EU has seen many prospects, according to Minister Wasicki.

He added that he hoped joint ventures between businesses from both countries could soon be established in Vietnam and Poland.

With a quarter of all its agricultural and fisheries products being for export, Poland has a wide range of experience in both of these sectors from processing to conducting scientific research. Poland is also a leading diary producer in Europe and these are areas both countries could cooperate in, said Minister Wasicki.

Vietnam exports agricultural, forestry and aquaculture products such as basa fish, shrimp, coffee, rice, tea, rubber worth approximately 400 million USD annually to Poland .

The Southeast Asian nation currently imports farm produce worth 10 billion USD each year from Poland .

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to promote bilateral cooperation in agriculture in September in Poland. However, two-way turnover in the agriculture sector has not yet matched the potential of both sides, added Minister Phat.

On the occasion, Minister Phat asked Minister Wasicki to convey a message to Poland ’s Economic Ministry on the possibility of providing more credit in the 2010 fiscal year to help Vietnam carry out a ship-building project that will enable the country to conduct research on its maritime resources.

On the same day, both ministers attended the Vietnam-Poland business forum.

The Polish delegation led by Minister Sawicki is visiting Vietnam from Nov. 30-Dec. 5./.