Vietnam hopes Norway continues supporting sea farming development

On August 11^th, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien chaired the medal awarding ceremony "For the cause of Agriculture and Rural Development" to Norwegian Ambassador Grete Lochen, and at the same shared about Vietnam and Norway’s bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of fisheries.

The MARD and Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien himself highly appreciate Mrs. Grete Lochen’s contribution to the development of the Vietnam-Norway friendship relationship specifically in the field of agriculture. According to Mrs. Grete Lochen, Vietnam and Norway have had a long-term cooperative relationship since 1970. With the foundation of supporting development, now the relationship between the two countries has turned in a new direction, having a new characteristic, which is promoting trade - investment. And Innovation Norway plays an important role as a bridge between businesses of both countries.

Over the past four years, the cooperation between Vietnam and Norway on the fishery sector has made positive changes, which includes the important contribution of Mrs. Grete Lochen. However, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that the development of sea farming in Vietnam has yet to be considered qualified. Vietnam possesses many potentials and advantages with a coastline of 3,260 km and a sea surface area of over 1 million km². And the achievement of many good results in sea farming development will help Vietnam reduce fishing pressure and become one of the important factors for the EU to consider withdrawing the IUU "yellow card". This is also what the Deputy Minister wished Mrs. Grete Lochen to convey to the next Ambassador to help the two sides continue the close coordination.

The Norwegian Ambassador informed that Norway has a grant for Vietnam to implement marine spatial planning. “When it comes to climate change, we all know the offshore wind is a very potential area in green energy conversion. And in order to develop many marine economic sectors such as tourism, aquaculture, sea farming and offshore wind at the same time, we need appropriate sea space planning to organize the implementation in a sustainable way."

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that in the context that Vietnam is on its initial steps of development, the price of Norwegian technology equipment is considered relatively high. The Deputy Minister hoped that Norway would have mechanisms and policies for Vietnam so that technological equipment could appear more in Vietnam.

The Norwegian Ambassador has attended and co-hosted a number of events in Vietnam with the Deputy Minister during her working period in Vietnam. This has created conditions for many Norwegian businesses to access and have the opportunity to sell equipment and technology to Vietnamese partners. Affirming that Norway owns the world's leading equipment and technology, Ms. Grete Lochen expressed understanding toward Vietnamese partners who still have certain concerns about the issue of price.

During her four years working in Vietnam, Mrs. Grete Lochen has witnessed some Vietnamese businesses choose a cheap investment option, but after 1-2 years they have to re-invest. “In the 70s-80s, Norway was also like that: we did not pay much attention to high-quality and valuable technology. We chose the cheap option, and then we paid the price, starting from scratch. It is thus important that we make the right decisions, in the right direction, or else we will destroy sea resources and ocean ecosystems.”

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that the two countries still had a lot of potential and advantages for cooperation. After working for four years in Vietnam, the leader of the agricultural sector believed that Mrs. Grete Lochen would have a lot of things to convey to the next Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development sent Mrs. Grete Lochen best wishes. “When the opportunity arrives and you come back to visit Vietnam, if you need anything, just contact and we will welcome you any time. These are sincere words from the bottom of my heart, not from a diplomatic stance between a Deputy Minister and an Ambassador. Thank you very much for your contributions, Mrs. Ambassador.”