On March 25, in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam Le Quoc Doanh had a meeting and worked with Mr. Charles MVE ELLA - Minister of Agriculture and Food of Gabon. The two sides discussed cooperation activities in the field of agriculture.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said: Vietnam is an agricultural country. Agriculture contributes 15% of the country’s GDP. The mission of the agricultural sector of Vietnam is to ensure the food needs of nearly 100 million people, and at the same time to export agricultural products to the world market. In recent years, the Vietnamese government has paid great attention to the agricultural sector, with many mechanisms and policies to promote the development of the agricultural sector. In the past two years, despite being heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, Vietnam’s agricultural sector has continued to grow and develop. In 2021, Vietnam’s agricultural export turnover will reach 48.6 billion USD, up 14.9% over the same period last year.

Vietnam cooperates with many countries around the world in science and technology and capacity building in the agricultural sector. In particular, Vietnam has a traditional relationship with African countries. Vietnam and Gabon signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Development of the Coffee Industry. Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh emphasized that the two sides needed to make efforts to make this cooperation practical and fruitful. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will always follow this process closely.

Mr. Charles MVE ELLA - Minister of Agriculture and Food of Gabon wishes that Vietnam would support Gabon in agricultural development. According to Mr. Charles MVE ELLA, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on the world economy, including Gabon. Gabon wishes to receive the sharing opinions of Vietnamese experts and businesses on solutions to develop the agricultural industry.

Since 2019, the President of Gabon has also approved many national development policies, in which agriculture is the foundation. Gabon wishes to receive more cooperation of Vietnam in the agricultural field to make the two industries of coffee and cocoa become key industries. Mr. Charles MVE ELLA expressed his hope that the sharing and cooperation of Vietnam will help Gabon achieve the ambition set out in the development orientation of the agricultural sector.