Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the U.S. to open its market further to Vietnamese agricultural products as he met with visiting Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack Wednesday.

PM Chinh asked the U.S. to support Vietnam in promoting fast, sustainable, modern and integrated agriculture; commercialize and enhance the value of agricultural products to benefit consumers as well as the economies of the two countries.

He hopes the U.S. will limit the use of unnecessary tools and technical barriers in agricultural trade with Vietnam, help to set up an irradiation facility in the north to facilitate the export of lychee, mango, pomelo and dragon fruit; and support Vietnam in planning and building areas for raw materials in order to meet U.S. standards on safety and hygiene.

American businesses are encouraged to invest in Vietnamese agriculture and the country is ready to increase the import of some American agricultural products, he said.

Chinh also asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support Vietnam in a number fields such as green transition, climate change adaptation, technology transfer and agricultural digital transformation; disease control, research and production of vaccines, plant protection and animal feed; and provide more scholarships and human resource training in agriculture.

He added that promoting agricultural cooperation between the two countries will help create jobs for farmers, especially in remote areas and areas heavily affected by the war, Agent Orange and impacts of climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta.

In 2022, the agricultural trade turnover of the two countries reached more than $15 billion, in which Vietnam’s export to the U.S. was $13 billion.

The two sides are cooperating to produce the African swine fever vaccine.

Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always considers the U.S. as one of its most important partners and wishes to promote the countries’ comprehensive partnership.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack affirmed his desire to strengthen bilateral relations with Vietnam, especially trade relations. He hopes that the two countries will continue to cooperate and consult each other in agricultural development, especially smart agriculture and climate change response.

Vilsack said he will work with agencies of the two sides to promote cooperation according to Chinh’s requests, including setting up an irradiation facility in northern Vietnam and expanding the market for agricultural products of both countries.

VnExpress