NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man meets with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. Photo: VNA   

Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man met with Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in Rome on April 14, affirming that Vietnam always regards FAO as a leading partner in agricultural and rural development.

At the meeting, part of the Vietnamese leader's official visit to Italy, Chairman Man spoke highly of FAO’s role in the United Nations development system, particularly in promoting agricultural cooperation, rural development, and global food security, especially amid the current challenging global context.

He welcomed the cooperation projects between FAO and Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities, including food systems transformation and the project on cultivating one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta by 2030.

Noting that Vietnam has established a new growth model to enhance economic competitiveness, with science – technology, innovation, and digital transformation as key drivers, along with its efforts to ensure food security, the top legislator affirmed Vietnam's consistent promotion of sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation, and called on FAO to coordinate in and support these efforts.

Regarding future cooperation orientations, he proposed that FAO assist Vietnam in restructuring its agricultural sector towards higher added value, green, sustainable and smart development, and climate change adaptation; transforming food systems; controlling diseases, especially zoonotic ones; and accelerating digital transformation in agriculture.

For his part, the FAO Director-General expressed his pleasure at meeting Chairman Man and welcoming the first high-ranking Vietnamese leader to visit the FAO headquarters in many years. He recalled his positive impressions from previous visits to Vietnam and witnessing the country’s strong transformation over the years, from its past struggle for independence to its current development path.

Congratulating Vietnam on its remarkable socio-economic achievements, he said Vietnam has truly taken off and will continue to make development breakthroughs under the clear-sighted leadership of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam as well as other leaders, including Chairman Man.

Qu commended Vietnam’s efforts to streamline its apparatus and adjust policies to ensure sustainable development and improve people’s living standards, suggesting the country continue sharing its experience and development model with other countries and regions.

He affirmed that FAO considers Vietnam an important partner in the region and recognises its leadership role in agriculture. He also welcomed its initiatives such as the trilateral cooperation in Africa and the “One Commune, One Product” programme.

Sharing Chairman Man’s concern over disease outbreaks and noting that this is also a priority for FAO at present, the FAO leader expressed his hope that Vietnam will continue to work closely with the organisation in these efforts.

The Director-General reaffirmed his willingness to promote cooperation with Vietnam in priority areas such as sustainable food systems transformation, green agriculture, and climate change adaptation.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed to keep boosting coordination, bring into play the effectiveness of existing cooperation programmes and projects, and broaden their work together in sustainable agriculture, innovation, and food systems transformation, thereby contributing to food security and sustainable development both regionally and globally./.