While receiving the Ho Chi Minh City delegation led by Mr. Nguyen Ho Hai, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Chile's Minister of Agriculture Valenzuela Esteban said that Chile is looking for opportunities to export its agricultural products into Vietnam, and at the same time, Chile can import many high-tech agricultural products of Ho Chi Minh City.
Chilean Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ignacia Fernández said that Chile has a center for researching and breeding high-tech plants and animals, which is very suitable for cooperation and exchange of experience with the Hi-tech Agricultural Park of Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, the Chilean government is also interested in organic agriculture; therefore, Chile hopes to exchange experiences and learn from Vietnam.
According to Mr. Ignacia Fernández, consumers’ demand for clean and high quality products is increasingly high; as a result, he proposed that Chile and Ho Chi Minh City coordinate research to provide the market with safe and high quality agricultural produce.
In addition, the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture is also planning to send officials to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City to research on investment cooperation opportunities in high-tech agriculture.
For his part, Vice Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Ngo Minh Chau affirmed that the southern largest city and Chile still have much room for development, especially in the field of agriculture and import-export of agricultural products. Particularly, Ho Chi Minh City is aiming for the development of high-tech agriculture and urban agriculture.
In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City's agricultural sector has applied advanced science and technology to produce high-yield and high-quality plant varieties, livestock and aquatic products while constantly promoting the application of high technology and biotechnology in agricultural production and studying plant varieties and animal breeds towards modern urban agriculture.
He proposed that the two sides connect businesses to promote trade in agriculture - forestry - fishery products. He expected that Chile will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural, forestry and fishery products, including products from Ho Chi Minh City, to access the Chilean market as well as access the large South American market.
Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai also proposed that the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture jointly promote exchange activities and share experiences on agricultural production. Last but not least, the two countries should cooperate in scientific research into agricultural production, especially high-tech agriculture, circular agriculture, organic agriculture, and green agriculture.
Permanent Deputy Secretary Nguyen Ho Hai said that in the cooperation signing programs between the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the localities ready to take the lead to concretize those contents through practical and effective actions.
