Welcoming the Ivorian parliamentary leader and his delegation, VNUA President Prof., Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan highlighted the university's nearly 70-year history of development, with training closely linked to practical research and national development.
She said sustainable international cooperation is built on mutual understanding and trust, expressing her hope that the visit would open opportunities for long-term, substantive and effective cooperation between the VNUA and Ivorian partners.
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VNUA President Prof., Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan introduces the university to President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire Patrick Achi and his delegation. |
Achi praised Viet Nam's major achievements in agriculture, particularly improvements in productivity, livestock and fisheries, as well as policies promoting agro-processing and higher added value.
He also highlighted Viet Nam's distribution and export strategies, which have helped the country become a major agricultural producer in ASEAN and the world.
With Viet Nam and Côte d'Ivoire having similar land areas, Achi said Côte d'Ivoire currently produces only around 2 million tons of rice annually. He expressed his desire that Côte d'Ivoire could learn from Viet Nam's experience in agricultural policies, human resources training, market organization, cooperatives and agro-processing in order to unlock the country's agricultural potential.
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VNUA President Prof., Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan (right) and President of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire Patrick Achi |
The Ivorian N.A. President also praised Viet Nam's progress in increasing the value of cashew and coffee production. Côte d'Ivoire produces more than 1 million tons of cashew nuts annually, compared with around 350,000 tons in Viet Nam, while Viet Nam's coffee output is nearly 2 million tons.
In fisheries, Côte d'Ivoire currently produces less than 100,000 tons despite its abundant river system, while Viet Nam has raised output to nearly 10 million tons and earns billions of U.S. dollars from exports, he said.
Achi also praised Viet Nam's significant achievements in poverty reduction in rural areas through food security and sustainable livelihoods.
Based on these experiences, he proposed that the two sides launch pilot policy projects under which Viet Nam would provide technical support and solutions to improve agricultural productivity in selected localities of Côte d'Ivoire.
During the visit, Achi and his delegation toured VNUA's Traditional Hall, Center of Excellence for Research and Innovation, Institute of Agricultural Biology and Technology, and Institute of Vegetables and Fruit Research.
The delegation also learned about the university's biotechnology models and modern agricultural research and technologies.
Source: VNA