Meetings of Việt Nam and Czech businesses in the agricultural sector at the Việt Nam-Czech Business Forum was hold on March 20 in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Hoàng Hà

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam-Czech Business Forum was held on March 20 in Hà Nội to create investment and business opportunities for the two countries' firms in the agriculture sector.

The forum was organised by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Việt Nam with cooperation of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking at the forum, Nguyễn Quốc Trị, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, said: "This forum is expected to introduce to Czech businesses and investors the potential, advantages, and investment needs in Việt Nam's farming, forestry and fishery sector."

"At the same time, this is also a good opportunity for the businesses from the two countries to promote signing of agreements on cooperation in trade and investment."

"Việt Nam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will create favourable conditions to promote business, trade and investment relations with Czech enterprises."

He expressed the hope that the Czech Republic will support Việt Nam in implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) between Việt Nam and the European Union (EU), and strengthen cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation in managing sustainable forest resources, implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and promoting legal trade of timber and forest products.

“We hope that the Czech Republic will recognise Việt Nam's efforts in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), and lend its support to urge the European Commission (EC) to lift its “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood exports,” Trị said.

Czech Republic's Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný said at the forum: "I believe that our business forum today will bring new cooperation ideas, and contribute to the development of projects and business activities between the two countries' firms."

Vyborny said he welcomes the enhanced cooperation in agriculture, food industry, and water resource management between Việt Nam and the Czech Republic, saying that his country aims to promote education and training in the agriculture sector.

During this visit, representatives from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague may connect with educational and training institutions in Việt Nam regarding agriculture, forestry, and sustainable use of agricultural products in Việt Nam, he said.

According to Vyborny, Vietnamese partners are eager to penetrate the Czech market and demonstrate their interest in traditional sectors of the European nation such as beer, meat, spirit, and confectionery production, agricultural technology, food industry, animal husbandry technology, and veterinary products.

Jana Havrdova, vice president of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, said 25 Czech companies, that accompanied the delegation of the Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Marek Výborný visiting Việt Nam, took part in this forum. They are in the field of brewing, dairy and meat processing, as well as the field of agricultural and food technology, agricultural inputs, food and beverages.

"The Czech business community is convinced that there are big potentials in further development of Czech and Vietnamese business cooperation and this forum is an excellent opportunity for us to explore the potential for investment, trade, and partnerships between our two countries," she said.

Czech's key farming products include plant production, cereals, canola, potatoes, sugar beets, hops and grape. The livestock production industry is also a strong point of Czech, according to the vice president of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. — VNS