HANOI: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường visited Belgium and the European Union last week to promote agricultural cooperation with the two partners.
At the four-day visit ending last Saturday, he also demonstrated Việt Nam’s efforts in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Through a series of meetings, the Vietnamese minister urged the European Union to lift the yellow card, which was imposed on Việt Nam on October 23, 2017, due to its failure to meet the requirements on IUU fishing prevention.
In his meeting with Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Cuong reported about the current implementation of the European Union’s recommendations on anti-IUU fishing in Việt Nam, highlighting concerted efforts of the entire nation and challenges facing the effort.
Cuong expressed hope of improved cooperation between Việt Nam and the European Union in fighting IUU fishing and carrying out the Voluntary Partnership Agreement in line with the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The minister also had a working session with Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, during which he stressed the European Union’s significant role in Việt Nam’s farming sector in terms of partnership, investment and knowledge-technical transfer.
Highlighting the importance of the European Union- Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Cường suggested both sides to soon ratify the pact to boost trade, particularly of agro-fishery-forestry products.
Cường asked the European Union to consider practical conditions for developing countries such as Việt Nam during its assessment and inspection of the seafood safety control system.
Regarding measures to implement the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, both the host and guest agreed to hold more dialogues to discuss the document content and implementation of SPS regulations in EVFTA.
