Egypt signs fisheries deal with HCM City

Viet Nam will train Egyptian technicians in marine and cage aquaculture, particularly in farming grouper, cobia, butterfly fish, and shrimp, under an agreement signed in HCM City yesterday, May 10.

The signing, made at the end of a week-long visit to Viet Nam by an Egyptian delegation headed by the chairman of the General Authority for Fish Resources Development, followed a memorandum of understanding on fisheries development signed in 2004 by the two sides.

Viet Nam would also provide experts in the fields of marine and cage aquaculture farming, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong said. The two sides have agreed to exchange visits in the fields of fisheries, aquaculture and quality control.

They would encourage close co-operation in hatching technology and integrated aquaculture between their fisheries-aquaculture research and training institutes.

Viet Nam wanted to strengthen international co-operation to develop its fisheries and aquaculture industry, and considered Egypt a reliable partner, Phuong said.

He hoped to see increased co-operation between businesses in the two countries in breeding, processing and marketing.

Mohamed Fathy Osman, chairman of Egypt’s General Authority for Fish Resources Development, said: “Though Egypt has achieved significant growth in aquaculture in recent years, its processing has not developed much.”

It also had problems with selecting and creating new strains as well as saltwater fish-breeding technologies, he said.

He hoped the co-operation would help eliminate the weaknesses in Egypt’s aquaculture industry.

Despite the difficulties caused by the global downturn last year, bilateral trade remained stable. Viet Nam’s exports to Egypt were worth US$165 million and imports, nearly $20 million, according to Dang Ngoc Quang, Vietnamese counsellor in Egypt.

Seafood was Viet Nam’s key export item, accounting for a third of the total exports, followed by other agricultural products like pepper, rice, coconut, coffee, and tea, and garments and textiles.

Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam Egypt cooperation