Vietnam joins regional economic forum

A delegation led by Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat attended the Asian Development Forum which opened on April 19 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The event is part of the framework for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia, which is taking place from April 19-21 in Indonesia.

Addressing the event, the minister highlighted the achievements Vietnam has attained from the “new vision in agriculture” initiative that was initiated at the Ho Chi Minh City-based WEF in 2010.

They include the successful implementations of sustainable and skillful agricultural production through cooperation between some 10,000 farmers and international groups, including Unilever, Nestle, Metro Cash and Carry, and Pepsico.

The approach has proven effective, with a great number of Vietnamese agricultural products having penetrated international markets, Phat said.

Vietnam’s agricultural sector accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), with the annual export value exceeding US$31 billion. It also creates jobs for half of the nation’s labour force, according to Phat.

In another meeting held on the same day, the minister told participants about Vietnam’s experience in applying the private-public partnership model to developing agriculture.

He said that through creative and long-term thinking, the sector aims to increase productivity and profit, while minimising water use and greenhouse gas emissions.

On the same day, the Vietnamese minister met with his counterparts from Indonesia and the Philippines in Jakarta.

Phat and Philippines’ Agriculture Minister, Proceso Alcala, reached an agreement to establish a working group on agricultural co-operation that will enforce new and existing partnership deals. They designated rice trade as a priority area for their economic co-operation.

Phat also met with his Indonesian counterpart, together they agreed to continue implementing a memorandum of understanding signed between their two agencies in 2013 on boosting rice trade and coordinating the export of rubber and coffee.

Talking with Indonesian Commerce Minister Rahmat Gobel, Phat expressed his hope that the two sides would collaborate in selling agricultural products to a third country.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)