02 May 2022, VN: On April 29, in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh had a meeting with Mr. Ivo Sieber, Ambassador of Switzerland in Vietnam.
The Government of Switzerland and Vietnam have cooperated in development since 1991. Switzerland is an important trading partner and the 6th largest European investor in Vietnam with investment focused on manufacturing industries. Vietnam is Switzerland’s fourth largest trading partner in Asean, with the total import-export turnover between the two countries in 2021 reaching nearly 900 million USD, of which agro-forestry and fishery exports reached 55 million USD.
Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that Switzerland had supported many technical projects for the agricultural industry, bringing high efficiency. The two sides’ trade cooperation has brought good results, especially after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). In the context of the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, Vietnam’s agriculture still achieved and exceeded the targets assigned by the Government. Agro-forestry and fishery exports reached 48.6 billion USD in 2021.
Mr. Ivo Sieber congratulated the Government of Vietnam on achieving many successes in many fields, especially agriculture. Many foreign corporations and companies still want to invest in Vietnam’s agricultural industry. Currently, Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EVFTA including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are negotiating to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
According to Mr. Ivo Sieber, Switzerland and Vietnam have a particularly effective cooperation relationship in the field of agriculture. The project “Remote sensing information system and crop insurance in emerging economies, building a rice monitoring system for Vietnam” (RIICE) helps Vietnam’s agricultural sector adapt and move forward digital transformation in the horticulture industry. The project has helped to improve the capacity of management and technical staff. He expressed his hope that the project will continue to promote its effectiveness in the following years.
Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh hopes that the agricultural industry will continue to cooperate with Switzerland and IRRI to be able to apply RIICE technology to build a crop monitoring and monitoring system integrated into the digital conversion system of the Vietnamese agricultural sector.
