Agriculture cooperation prospects for Vietnam, Argentina

Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee Vo Thang Thong (R) and rgentine Ambassador to Vietnam Juan Carlos Valle Raleigh

The Ambassador reiterated the Argentine government’s open door policy and called on foreign businesses to invest in the country.

He said Vietnam is not only a priority market in Argentina’s export persification and expansion strategy but also an important trading partner in Asia and the third-biggest importer of Argentine products in the region.

The diplomat noted that Argentina has strengths in agriculture while Can Tho is a driving economic force of the entire Mekong Delta with many agricultural and aquatic products with high export value, a fact attracting a large number of businesses.

Therefore, Argentine investors hope to build long-term strategic ties with the city, he said.

However, per the initial survey of Argentina’s agricultural experts, the use of science-technology in Can Tho remains ineffective due to lack of investment in logistics service facilities for harvesting and preservation.

He suggested the city work with the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA) of Argentina – a prestigious research institute in South America which has made significant contributions to agriculture in Argentina.

The ambassador said the cooperation could help the city find measures to remove bottlenecks to developing agriculture in the Mekong Delta, focusing on food security, climate change, improving soil quality, enhancing market connectivity, increasing value for forestry products and aquaculture.

The INTA could help Can Tho enhance the use of science-technology in developing high-tech agriculture as well as attracting the private economic sector to help poor people in both rural and urban areas enjoy benefits from effective agricultural economic models and advanced cultivation methods.

Through cooperation plans, Can Tho can work with the INTA to seek new ways to solve crucial issues in agriculture development such as increasing the productivity and quality of farm produce, protecting land and water resources and ensuring food safety and hygiene.

Raleigh proposed Can Tho coordinate with the Argentine Embassy in Vietnam to implement programmes to connect agricultural businesses with partners from Argentina and other countries in South America.

This will create an excellent opportunity for Can Tho firms to access cutting edge technologies to increase competitiveness for their products while opening up new international cooperation opportunities.

The Ambassador asked Can Tho to build “clean” investment attraction policies, which encourage businesses and investors to operate towards sustainable development, promote social responsibility and create environmentally-friendly products.

He also suggested the city improve infrastructure and human resources and capacity to connect with businesses in addition to launching tours to introduce the city to international firms.

He took this occasion to invite Can Tho to introduce the delta’s farm produce at AgroActiva, the biggest agriculture fair of Argentina, which is held annually in June in Santa Fe province - about 400km from the capital Buenos Aires.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vo Thang Thong agreed on the proposals of the ambassador and said the city will do its utmost to improve the business environment, reform human resources attraction mechanisms and create the best conditions for Argentine partners to invest in the city.

He hoped the Argentine Embassy would help Can Tho access Argentine investors and projects.

Can Tho is expected to become a gateway for Argentina to export goods to the Mekong Delta while Argentina can help connect the Mekong Delta with the Latin American market, he said.