Deputy Minister Hoang Trung meet the Chief Executive Officer of IDH in Switzerland

This meeting is an activity in a series of events during which Deputy Minister Hoang Trung joined Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the 2024 annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. 

Deputy Minister Hoang Trung highly appreciated and thanked the support and assistance of the IDH for Vietnam's agriculture and for adapting to the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (referred to as EUDR). The Deputy Minister announced the urgent and drastic measures that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented related to EUDR. 

Specifically, the Ministry is consulting with relevant ministries and branches to submit to the Government for promulgation an Action Plan to adapt to EUDR regulations in the first quarter of 2024. The Ministry has directed localities to participate in developing and implementing EUDR adaptation plans: Closely monitor high-risk areas for industries affected by EUDR and assign relevant specialized agencies to coordinate with units of the Ministry, industry associations, businesses, and organizations. International organizations, including IDH, build and recognize a national database on forests and plantation areas, review and unify field maps, share, update, and digitize cadastral map data on planted gardens and additional surveys for gardens not yet on the cadastral map based on data on forests and planting areas, delineating areas with high, medium, and low risk of deforestation. 

From there, identify appropriate solutions for monitoring, protecting, and restoring forests, establishing a traceability system, supporting livelihoods and sustainable production, propagating and disseminating EUDR regulations, building and implementing traceability, supporting conversion, and improving farmers' livelihoods.

The Ministry has proactively organized and coordinated with the European Union, international partners such as UNDP, localities, and relevant parties (industries, associations, businesses) to organize events to inform and propaganda about EUDR; Coordinate with several international organizations such as UNDP and IDH to organize evaluation and pilot activities on technical measures to trace agricultural and forestry products that do not cause deforestation...

To adapt to EUDR, the Ministry has had many in-depth discussions with technical units and leading agencies of the European Commission and consulted with international units, organizations, and specialized agencies subjects to develop an Action Plan Framework to adapt to EUDR, which proposes specific tasks/solutions and assigns specialized agencies of the Ministry to implement them. 

Implementing this vital task requires the cooperation of ministries, branches, localities, industry associations, farmer businesses, and the support of the EU and international organizations. The Deputy Minister requested that IDH continue supporting the Ministry in developing and testing technical solutions meeting EUDR.

The CEO of IDH sincerely thanked the Deputy Minister, despite being very busy attending essential activities within the framework of the World Economic Forum, for taking the time to meet and work. 

Daan Wensing also thanked the Ministry for giving the Noble Awards for the Agriculture and Rural Development to him and the IDH team at the recent COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. 

He highly appreciated the cooperation and help of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, especially the Minister and Deputy Ministers, for IDH over the past 15 years of operation, focusing mainly on coffee and spice products in recent years in Vietnam. 

The cooperative relationship between the two sides is demonstrated through the Ministry's trust in IDH, specifically the Minister's appreciation of IDH's contribution during the Minister's recent visit to Belgium. 

The CEO of IDH expressed his desire and readiness to be a bridge to organize dialogues calling for the cooperation and coordination of leaders of large organizations, corporations, and companies in the world to continue supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam in meeting the requirements of EUDR regulations as well as in the upcoming development work. 

Regarding EUDR, on May 16, 2023, the European Commission passed the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (referred to as EUDR). EUDR prohibits importing products produced on land from deforestation and forest degradation after December 31, 2020, for seven agricultural products, including livestock, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soybeans, wood, and wood products. 

Goods belonging to these 7 product groups can only be imported into Europe if they meet the conditions of not causing deforestation, are produced according to the laws of the producing country and have a responsibility appraisal report. Coffee, rubber, wood, and wood products are Vietnam's primary industries greatly affected by this regulation, especially the coffee industry.

EUDR regulations are officially implemented after 18 months from the effective date for large and medium-sized enterprise groups (from January 1, 2025) and after 24 months for small and micro enterprises (from July 1, 2025). 

Previously, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. The Prime Minister thanked the Swiss Government for the warm welcome and congratulated the success of the WEF Davos 2024 Conference, which featured nearly 3,000 leaders of governments and businesses globally.

The President of the Swiss Confederation highly appreciated Vietnam's outstanding socio-economic development achievements in recent years and affirmed that Vietnam is Switzerland's top priority and vital economic partner in Southeast Asia. The President of the Swiss Confederation pledged to continue providing development aid to Vietnam, with more than 40 projects being implemented in various fields, including sharing experiences on sustainable development, education, and business innovation. 

The two leaders also agreed to have a flexible approach in negotiating the Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the bilateral Investment Protection Agreement to create favorable conditions and ensure the interests of businesses and investors of the two countries.