(Chinhphu.vn) – On the afternoon of April 19, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received US Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, who is visiting and working in Vietnam.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister Thomas Vilsack reviewed and highly appreciated the remarkable development of bilateral relations between Vietnam and the United States over the past time, in which economic-trade relations are the most important ones. As a pillar and a strong driving force, the United States becomes Vietnam’s leading economic partner, on the basis of friendship, mutual respect, and mutual benefits.
The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam is steadfast in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization and diversification of relations, and proactive and active international integration; willing to be a friend, a reliable partner, an active, active and responsible member of the international community.
In the overall foreign policy, Vietnam always considers the United States as one of the most important partners, wishes to promote the Comprehensive Partnership with the United States and supports the strengthening of friendly and cooperative relations. cooperation in the fields; in which, agriculture is a very important sector.
The Prime Minister said that, building on the results of the very successful phone conversation between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden recently, Vietnam is ready to work with the US to continue to deepen ties. effectively and practically on the basis of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions; consistent with the interests of the two peoples and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world.
In 2022, the import-export turnover of agricultural products between the two countries will reach 15.36 billion USD, of which Vietnam exports to the US 13 billion USD, the US exports to Vietnam 2.36 billion USD. The two sides are also actively promoting the cooperation program to produce African swine fever vaccine.
The Prime Minister asked the US side to strengthen cooperation and support in the process of Vietnam promoting fast, sustainable, modern and integrated agriculture, suitable to Vietnam’s conditions, and building ecological agriculture. modern Thai, rural, civilized farmers; commercialize and increase the added value of agricultural products; bringing benefits to consumers and economies of the two countries, contributing to the comprehensive cooperation relationship between Vietnam and the United States.
The Prime Minister suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture of the two countries further strengthen cooperation so that each side can diversify products and supply chains; The US opens the market even more to Vietnamese agricultural products; complete the procedures to open the market for Vietnamese agricultural products such as coconut, passion fruit…; support the establishment of irradiation facilities in the North of Vietnam to facilitate the export of lychee, mango, pomelo and dragon fruit; limiting the use of unnecessary tools and technical barriers in agricultural trade with Vietnam; assisting Vietnam in planning and building material areas and meeting US standards on safety and hygiene of agricultural products; encourage and promote US businesses to invest more strongly and diversify more in the agricultural industry in Vietnam. For its part, Vietnam is ready to open its market and increase imports of some agricultural products from the US.
The Prime Minister also proposed the US Department of Agriculture to strengthen cooperation and support Vietnam in green transformation, climate change adaptation, technology transfer and agricultural digital transformation; disease control, research and production of vaccines, plant protection drugs, animal feeds; increase scholarships and human resource training for the agricultural sector.
According to the Prime Minister, the promotion of agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and the United States will contribute to the consumption of agricultural products, creating jobs and livelihoods for farmers, especially in remote and affected areas. severely affected by war consequences, Agent Orange and strongly affected by climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta.
The US Secretary of Agriculture said that this is his third visit to Vietnam, and each time has witnessed the strong development of Vietnam as well as the relationship between the two countries.
He affirmed that the US side wants to strengthen bilateral relations with Vietnam, especially the two countries’ trade relations; The two sides continue to cooperate and consult each other’s experiences in agricultural development, especially smart agriculture and climate change response.
He said he would discuss and work with the authorities of the two sides to promote the fields and contents of cooperation such as the Prime Minister’s comments, including the establishment of an irradiation facility in the North of Vietnam. Vietnam, contributing to supporting Vietnamese agricultural products to best meet the needs of the US market and other markets, expanding markets for agricultural products of the two sides.
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-nghi-hoa-ky-mo-cua-hon-nua-voi-nong-san-viet-nam-102230419190343707.htm