Vietnam cooperates with US for responsible agriculture

Working session between Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink (Photo: nongnghiep.vn)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink (Photo: nongnghiep.vn)

At the meeting, in addition to agriculture, AmbassadorDaniel Kritenbrink shared that President Biden is highly interested in dealingwith 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 Vietnamand the US.

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

He added that some US agencies are also working with theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Committee onSearch and Rescue to strengthen the preparedness to cope natural disasters inVietnam.

Looking towards the future, the US Ambassador to Vietnamsaid: “If the Senate approves, from Washington I may get a position to continuepromoting bilateral relations between Vietnam and the US, includingagricultural trade. I am confident that our partnership will continue to moveforward”./.

VNA