At the workshop (Photo: VNA) The event was jointly organised by the VietnameseMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exportersand Producers (VASEP) in both in-person and teleconference formats.
To increase Vietnamese aquatic products’ presence inAustralia, Metcalfe suggested the two sides step up information sharing andtechnical assistance, thus helping Vietnamese producers better satisfy quarantinestandards set by Australia.
Enhancing vaccinations would help Vietnamese and Australianbusinesses, including those operating in the fishery sector, step up tradingactivities, the official said.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu QuangMinh said Australia has become one of Vietnam’s ten biggest trade partners,adding that Vietnam’s fishery export to the country expanded by 35 percent inthe first eight months of this year despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He used the occasion to thank Australia for itsdonation of COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies to Vietnam.
Head of the Vietnamese Directorate of Fisheries NguyenDinh Luan said Vietnam’s aquatic products have met Global Gap and ASC standardsas well as those on product origin.
According to VASEP Deputy Secretary To Thi Tuong Lan,Vietnam will intensify technological application, work harder to satisfy requirementson production and environmental protection, boost cooperation withinternational organisations to supervise production, and step up research toensure food safety.
The participating Australian businesses suggested Vietnamesefirms foster cooperation in procedures as prescribed in such agreements as the ASEAN-Australia-NewZealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) to which both countries are signatories.
Vietnam needs to quickly apply electroniccertification to facilitate its fishery export amid the pandemic spread, theysaid./.
VNA
