Sweden supports Vietnam’s agricultural development

Vietnam and Sweden have pledged to continue to intensify the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences in various prioritised areas of agriculture and rural development.

The commitment is reflected in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed in Hanoi on June 2 by Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Rolf Bergman and Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat.

The areas include inter alia state management functions in fisheries, irrigation and rural development; food safety; animal health; crop and seed varieties; forest management; and research.

At the signing ceremony, Ambassador Bergman emphasised that the MOU is a great step towards a new form of cooperation between parties from Sweden and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, minister Phat said that Sweden-funded programmes have made positive impact on the development of Vietnam’s agriculture and rural sector. He added that Sweden’s financial assistance for agricultural and forestry studies as well as technical assistance from Swedish experts have contributed to strengthening agricultural sciences.

Over the past 15 years, Sweden has provided nearly US$100 million to the MARD programmes, around half of which was given to agricultural and forestry scientific studies.

Tags: Vietnam Sweden cooperation