Hope Norway supports Vietnam in developing a set of standards for marine farming

This was shared by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien at the reception and working session with Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken taking place on May 22 in Hanoi.

On the side of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), there was the participation of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Department Pham Ngoc Mau, and leaders of the Department of Fisheries, Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance, and Department of Animal Health. On the side of the Norwegian Embassy were the Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam, Hilde Solbakken, and the Commercial Counselor of the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam, Karin Greve-Isdahl.

Proposal to sign "Agreement to Implement Cooperation on Marine Farming"

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien expressed his sincere thanks for the cooperation and support of the Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam in coordinating with the Vietnamese Embassy in Norway to arrange very useful working meetings with MARD's working delegation led by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien to Norway last April.

The Deputy Minister said that during the business trip, he had a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Minister in charge of fisheries under the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries; the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway; the Norwegian Employers' Confederation; and the Norwegian Innovation Agency to exchange many contents. Of which, important contents include strengthening Vietnam – Norway cooperation in many fields, such as marine farming policy, sustainable development, food safety, research cooperation, collection and assessment of crop genetic resources, etc.

Besides, the Deputy Minister also worked with the Norwegian Trade Office on coordination and support for the Department of Fisheries in developing a set of standards for marine farming; cooperation in identifying marine farming areas, developing models of marine farming, building a Vietnamese marine farming brand, producing feed for aquaculture, etc.

"Norwegians are always ahead of their time. Everything is in hand or in mind. If Norway shares a part so that Vietnam can develop and prosper together, it will be very good," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized.

The Deputy Minister said that it is known that the General Director of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) will visit and work in Vietnam in June 2024 to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of fisheries and forestry. In recent times, MARD has received a lot of support from NORAD through technical assistance programs and projects. It is hoped that in the coming time, NORAD will continue to coordinate with MARD to develop specific cooperation programs.

The Deputy Minister expressed his hope that the Norwegian Fisheries Management will coordinate with the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance to support Vietnam in participating as an observer in the Global Ocean Monitoring Program to Combat IUU Fishing. At the same time, support funding to attend events and programs sharing experience on combating IUU fishing in Asia and Europe.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries will coordinate with the Norwegian Trade Office and the Department of Fisheries to develop and implement cooperation and support in terms of experts and financial resources for cooperation programs on policy planning, marine spatial planning, marine farming area planning, and technical human resource training on marine farming.

The two sides discussed, agreed, and signed an "Agreement to Implement Cooperation on Marine Farming." Vietnam's Department of Fisheries has drafted the Agreement and sent it to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries through the Embassy.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien also requested the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and NORAD to consider possibilities and promote cooperation. Specifically, supporting cooperation programs and projects to develop industrial marine fish farming in some potential provinces such as Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, and Quang Ninh in Vietnam; cooperation on developing emission-reducing production, green production, circular economy in agriculture, etc.

In addition, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is also requested to coordinate with Vietnam's Department of Animal Health, the Department of Processing, Quality and Market Development, etc., to build a long-term cooperation program on strengthening capacity and facilities for Vietnam's aquatic veterinary testing centers to support the businesses of the two countries in import-export procedures for animal-derived goods.

To develop industrial marine farming, Vietnam needs to attract large investors

The Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam, Hilde Solbakken, expressed her thanks for the solemn reception and working session on the Vietnamese side. Ms. Hilde Solbakken said: "The Norwegian Embassy sees that Norway – Vietnam cooperation in the field of fisheries, especially cooperation between the Norwegian Embassy and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is one of the most successful cooperations and has the longest history."

Ms. Hilde Solbakken said that in the meeting with the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries a few weeks ago, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries also expressed its wish to cooperate and support Vietnam in developing technical standards for marine farming.

"I think Vietnam can build a policy framework to attract foreign investors to develop marine farming in particular and aquaculture in general, through which technology can be transferred to Vietnam," the Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam suggests.

Ms. Karin Greve-Isdahl, Commercial Counselor, Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam, said that, with Norway's experience in the field of salmon, I realize that to develop industrial-scale marine farming, Vietnam needs to attract large investors and businesses with great potential. The first thing that MARD as well as Vietnamese specialized agencies need to do is develop a set of standards. Good standards and a safe and sustainable investment environment will be the motivation for large businesses to stick with it for a long time.

As for technical standards for marine farming, Ms. Karin Greve-Isdahl affirmed: "Norway is confident in having leading experts who can share and work with Vietnamese experts to develop them."

“We will continue to introduce Vietnam's aquaculture potential to Norwegian businesses to attract their investment in Vietnam. Currently, there are many Norwegian businesses that have invested as well as are exploring cooperation opportunities in Vietnam throughout the chain, from vaccine and breed production to farming, equipment, and processing," said Ms. Karin Greve-Isdahl.

Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken affirmed that in the coming time, the Norwegian Embassy will promote exchanges with the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries to have a more specific plan on the issue of developing a set of standards for marine farming.

Regarding the issue of building a Vietnamese seafood brand, Ms. Hilde Solbakken shared that the Norwegian Seafood Council is the representative unit for the Norwegian salmon industry as well as the country's seafood cooperation. This is also the unit responsible for building the brand for Norwegian seafood. They have an office in Bangkok (Thailand) and regularly have business trips to Vietnam. During the upcoming business trip, the Embassy will propose to include the working session of the Norwegian Seafood Council with Vietnam's Department of Fisheries in the working program to discuss this issue.

Regarding fisheries surveillance and IUU, Ms. Hilde Solbakken said that this is also a priority field of the Norwegian Government. If Vietnam considers participating in the Global Ocean Monitoring Program to Combat IUU Fishing initiated by Norway, which currently has more than 20 countries participating, then through this program Norway can provide support in terms of sharing information, science and technology, and experience in the field of seafood exploitation and combating IUU fishing.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said: "It is extremely fortunate for Vietnam to have an ambassador who understands the sea and fisheries. Cooperation on standards and regulations; cooperation on models; support for training, science, and technology; support for participation in IUU monitoring; disease prevention, especially vaccine production, etc., are all fields in which Norway has a lot of experience. We hope that Vietnam – Norway cooperation will get better and better."