Belgian partners are always dedicated and enthusiastic to help Vietnam's agricultural industry: official

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh onMarch 15 met with Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen, discussing issues related to agricultural and rural development in Vietnam.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh raised the potential for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, in which Belgium could become a gateway for Vietnamese agricultural products to access European markets.

In addition, Belgium is also a country supporting Vietnam in developing standards and regulations related to food safety.

Regarding education, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that the bilateral cooperation between Vietnamese institutes and universities and those in Belgium and Europe was very good. Currently, many Vietnamese students have completed their Master's degrees. , Ph.D. in Belgium and returned to Vietnam to contribute to the homeland, including the agricultural sector.

Regarding cooperation activities, the Deputy Minister said that in all projects, Belgian partners were always dedicated and enthusiastic to help Vietnam.

"In cooperation events between the two countries, representatives from Belgium Embassy in Vietnam and the Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen is one of the Ambassadors that I meet the most".

Meanwhile, Ambassador Paul Jansen expressed his pleasure that cooperation programs of the two countries in the field of agriculture have been present in many localities of Vietnam.

The Ambassador emphasised that based on agreements and memorandums that Vietnam and Belgium have signed, activities related to agriculture and rural areas would be enhanced in the coming time.

Specifically, Mr. Paul Jansen mentioned the project of building smart storage cabins in the Mekong Delta region, helping vegetables and fruits produced in this area to meet export demand.

This storage system, together with the Logistics Center Project in Cai Mep Ha, will be a bridge for agricultural products in the Mekong Delta to reach Europe.

"Currently this project is being delayed and I hope the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development can support to accelerate the project progress. This project can help Vietnamese agricultural products more easily easier to the European market, reducing reliance on exports to the Chinese market," said Ambassador Paul Jansen.

Regarding this project, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said he was very supportive and affirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would have the strongest support, working with other ministries and branches to accelerate the progress.

In addition, Ambassador Paul Jansen also mentioned the development of cocoa in Vietnam, an agricultural product of interest to Belgian chocolate manufacturers.

Agreeing with this opinion, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that while coffee had a complete system for development, cocoa still had some problems, for example, when intercropping, the technique must be correct or the cocoa will get diseases.

"To develop cocoa, it is necessary to cooperate to promote research, come up with a methodical technical process, which requires the participation of several large, experienced cocoa companies. high level of Belgium", he said.

He also called for support from Belgium is to remove the "IUU yellow card" in the seafood sector.