President Truong Tan Sang welcomed Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hayashi Yoshimasa to Ha Noi yesterday.
The minister's visit would help enhance the two countries' relations, particularly on agriculture, President Sang said. He added that he hoped the Japanese ministry and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would reach an agreement to co-operate more in the field.
If successful, the countries' agricultural collaboration could become a model for the ASEAN region and even be extended to other fields, he said. The two sides would hold regular discussions based on high political trust to address difficulties that arose during the process.
The Japanese minister said he visited Viet Nam this time to attend the second Viet Nam-Japan high-level dialogue on agricultural co-operation with a focus on a long-term joint vision. He said he hoped to turn the vision into a model for ASEAN agricultural co-operation.
He took the occasion to inform the president that Japan planned to export its apples to Viet Nam, and was considering importing mangoes from Viet Nam.
Japanese businesses were interested in Viet Nam's new regulations on agriculture, livestock husbandry and aquatic farming, he said. Viet Nam also needed to continue to improve its investment and intellectual property protections, and simplify administrative procedures to help Japanese businesses expand their investments in the country.
The minister said Japan would consider providing used fishery surveillance ships for Viet Nam, as well as helping Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces improve their tuna fishing techniques and supporting the central region's fisheries logistics service centre.
Japan would also think about co-ordinating with Viet Nam on its response to climate change through official development assistance (ODA), he added.
