Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh and Mr. Tetsuo Konaka, Head of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement on the Reference Testing and Agrifood Quality Consultancy Center (RETAQ) using Japanese Government’s non-refundable official development assistance (ODA).
The project aims to improve safety of agricultural, forestry and seafood products as well as fulfill commitment to enhanced analysis and surveilance capacity in the country.
Mr. Tetsuo Konata said that testing equipment as well as infrastructure for food safety managing system would be funded within the framework of RETAQ.
“The project is hoped to improve food safety in agricultural products and fulfill the commitments in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement (SPS) of WTO throughout lifting analyzing, testing and food safety surveillance in Vietnam” shared Mr. Konata.
Deputy Minister Doanh said that currently Japan is the biggest sponsor for Vietnam, providing around committed ODA grants of US$30.5 billion.
Lifting the quality management of agricultural products as well as ensuring food safety is one of the priorities in Vietnam nowadays. Thus, building the Reference Testing and Agrifood Quality Consultancy Center is totally essential.
