Vietnam and Belgium boost agricultural products exchange

Belgium is Vietnam's fifth biggest trade partner in the EU bloc in terms of agro-forestry-fisheries goods, which are complementary and non-competitive between the two nations.  Minister of MARD Le Minh Hoan visited Belgium's Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, and Self-Employed, David Clarinval, as part of Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue's and high-ranking delegations' working tour to the EU and Belgium.

Vietnam's agricultural head highlighted that the Vietnam-Belgium cooperation has fostered growth in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, during the last 50 years. He expressed his gratitude for the strong collaboration and Belgium's assistance for Vietnam's agricultural sector.

2018 was a landmark year for the two nations, as they formed agricultural strategic partnerships. As a result, Minister Le Minh Hoan proposed concentrating efforts on strengthening strategic cooperation by capitalizing on the involved sides' comparative advantages and potentials.

Minister Le Minh Hoan recommended that the Belgian side provide favorable circumstances for agro-forestry-fisheries goods to penetrate the two markets.

Minister Le Minh Hoan expressed his hope that Belgium would continue to support the development of waterborne logistics and cold storage systems in the Mekong Delta using Belgian technology to connect this region's fresh agricultural and aquatic products to Cai Mep port, Belgium's Antwerp port, and other major ports worldwide.

Minister Le Minh Hoan, in particular, suggested that Belgium assist Vietnam in producing cocoa goods so that they may be sold to the former and linked with the country's well-known chocolate brand.

He confirmed that Vietnam is ready to assist investment and agricultural business in sectors where Belgium excels, such as seaport logistics, wind desalination, remote sensing, and food preservation.

Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized that the two sides should address specific topics and a suitable framework for implementing the provisions of the October 2018 Memorandum of Understanding on food safety.

MARD wishes to continue receiving ODA assistance from Belgium to carry out strategic cooperation initiatives and industrial development. Minister Le Minh Hoan said that Vietnam is attempting to combat illicit, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The agricultural sector's chief recommended that Belgium acknowledge Vietnam's efforts to fight IUU fishing and express support so that the European Commission (EC) swiftly considers lifting Vietnam's fisheries industry's "yellow card."

For his part, Belgium's Minister David Clarinval expressed his desire to cooperate and advance the implementation of the two governments' October 2018 Strategic Agricultural Partnership Agreement, which calls for strong cooperation in training, technology transfer, private investment promotion, and the development of logistics systems for agricultural value chains.

Minister David Clarinval agreed to Vietnam's proposal for closer coordination to deploy and expand ODA projects in Vietnam, including a project to build a cold storage facility for fruit in the Mekong Delta, a desalination project using wind energy in the central provinces and the Mekong Delta, a project to develop sustainable rice and cocoa, and a project to foster collaboration between universities and research institutes.

Additionally, Vietnam continues to promote and provide favorable circumstances for Belgian investors to build a logistics port at Cai Mep Ha port for the export of fresh fruit to Europe. Additionally, the Belgian Minister highlighted the need of facilitating the entry of Belgian goods with competitive advantages, such as cherries and pork, into the Vietnamese market.