Making agriculture a pillar of bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and Sierra Leone

During the official visit to Vietnam, President Julius Maada Bio and a delegation from Sierra Leone visited the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture Sciences ('VAAS') on March 16.

Speaking to welcome the senior leaders of Sierra Leone, VAAS's Director Nguyen Hong Son said that in the 2005-2015 period, VAAS selected and created 620 new plant varieties; in the 2016-2020 period, 296 new plant varieties have been selected and created. Typically, with rice, VAAS varieties' seeding area accounts for 59% of the country's rice area; 77% of the rice area in the Mekong Delta. 5/10 varieties of VAAS have the largest planting area in Vietnam; 8 out of 10 varieties have the largest planting area in the Mekong Delta. 

These are all issues of concern to Sierra Leone and would like to exchange experiences during this visit to Vietnam from March 14-20.

"With 4 functional units, 19 affiliated institutes/centers; currently cooperating with 33 countries and 66 international organizations worldwide, VAAS has a lot of experience in agricultural farming, especially in high technology applications", Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Son said. 

To help the senior leaders of Sierra Leone better understand Vietnamese agriculture, Assoc. Dr. Dao The Anh, Deputy Director of VAAS, reviewed promising fields of cooperation between the two countries soon, including the exchange of plant seed genetic resources, plant breeding, ecological agriculture, and smart adaptive with climate change, microorganisms, plant protection, agricultural product value chains, technology transfer, and agricultural extension, etc.

Vietnam and Sierra Leone are currently strengthening many exchanges and cooperation activities. Export turnover of the two countries in 2020 reached US$ 49.26 million, an increase of over 200% compared to US$ 17 million in 2018. Vietnam mainly exports cigarettes, computers, textile products, and raw materials and imports wood. 

In the 2004-2013 period, Vietnam had many delegations from research institutes and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to survey the agricultural projects' possibility of cooperation and construction in Sierra Leone.

President Julius Maada Bio shared: "Sierra Leone admires Vietnam's achievements in agriculture." He also expressed his wish to receive support from Vietnam and share experiences in agriculture.

According to the President of Sierra Leone, the climate and soil conditions between the two countries have many similarities. It is the basis for Vietnam and Sierra Leone to make agriculture the mainstay of bilateral cooperation.

On visiting VAAS, representatives of the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation between Sierra Leone and the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences in crop production.

The official visit to Vietnam by President Julius Maada Bio on the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (from June 24, 1982, to June 24, 2022) was also the first top-level exchange of the two countries.

In the past, the two countries have signed many agricultural cooperation documents such as Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in salt production; Memorandum of Understanding between Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Sierra Leone's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security; Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Sierra Leone's Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources...

Also, on March 16, President Julius Maada Bio met with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.