Boost comprehensive agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines

Mr. Domingo Panganiban, Deputy Minister of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines and related officials warmly welcomed the Minister and the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.

Opening the meeting, Minister Le Minh Hoan reiterated the two countries' common concerns mentioned in the intersection between National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, cum Secretary of Agriculture of the Philippines, on food security and sustainable agricultural development. This is a concern of Vietnam and the Philippines and a common trend in the ASEAN region and globally.

The Philippines is a traditional trading partner for the rice sector and one of Vietnam's largest rice importers. Minister Le Minh Hoan informed Deputy Minister Panganiban that Vietnam is promoting the restructuring of Vietnam's rice industry towards high quality and sustainability.

Vietnam is also promoting research and collaborating with international partners to create new varieties and farming processes adapted to climate change. Therefore, Vietnam and the Philippines need to encourage strong cooperation in the rice trade to create a long-term partnership.

Besides rice, Minister Le Minh Hoan also suggested that the Philippines promote cooperation in animal husbandry and chicken production and processing and mutual recognition of analysis and testing activities when conducting the import and export of rice products and livestock products from Vietnam to the Philippines.

Deputy Minister Panganiban also proposed strengthening cooperation in the exchange of fruit and vegetable production and processing technologies according to each country's strengths, and especially promoting trade and investment cooperation in the fruit and vegetable industries of the two countries' enterprises.

The two sides agreed to promote further comprehensive cooperation in fisheries, including fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing. Minister Le Minh Hoan suggested that the Philippines soon reach an agreement with Vietnam to sign an Agreement to establish a hotline to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This is not only the image of each country but also the responsibility of each party in protecting marine resources and enhancing sustainable development.

The two sides agreed that it is necessary to promote more frequent exchanges of the Joint Working Group in the fisheries sector to strengthen cooperation in exploiting the Philippines' tuna raw materials for Vietnamese processing plants, ensuring access to an exact origin, exchange of farming techniques in the sea, especially for seaweed.

In the context of climate change, the two sides highly agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the research and development of plant varieties (high-quality rice varieties, maize varieties, etc.) in adverse weather conditions such as drought, saltwater intrusion, floods, resistance to pests and diseases; research on the scientific basis and share practical experience in loss and damage assessment as well as international negotiation experience related to lose and damage, climate change adaptation; to train and train researchers and managers of the agriculture and rural development sectors related to climate change response and climate-smart agricultural development.

Deputy Minister Panganiban looks forward to the two ministries agreeing and signing a new Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation between the two countries in mid-2023 during the annual meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture between Vietnam and the Philippines.

On November 23, 2022, President of the National Assembly of Vietnam Duong Dinh Hue also met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.

Mr. Hue said the two countries could cooperate in many fields, including agriculture, science and technology, education and training, digital transformation, digital economy, climate change response, cybersecurity and green energy transformation.

The leaders agreed that bilateral trade was a highlight of relations between the two countries with total import-export turnover in 2021 reaching US$ 6.8 billion, the highest to date. Trade turnover in the first 10 months of 2022 reached nearly US$ 6.6 billion.

Mr. Hue also asked the Philippines to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese living and working in the country and continue to ensure the humane treatment of Vietnamese fishermen.

President Marcos said he highly appreciated the integration and contribution of the Vietnamese community in the Philippines. He also asked Vietnam to increase imports of products from the Philippines to stabilize the trade balance.

The two sides agreed to coordinate their shared stance on issues within the framework of the United Nations, ASEAN and APEC.