US Under Secretary of Agriculture Ted McKinney. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Hà Kim Ngọc held phone talks with US Under Secretary of Agriculture Ted McKinney in Washington DC on Wednesday with a view to promoting agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
The talks were also attended by representatives of Việt Nam’s trade office in the US and the agriculture counsellor at the US Embassy in Việt Nam.
Voicing their delight at the progress in the countries’ relations, Ngọc and McKinney affirmed that phone talks between Vietnamese and US leaders, including the event between Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and President Donald Trump, along with the one between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are of great importance as they have created momentum for bilateral partnerships.
Regarding agricultural trade, Ambassador Ngọc said Việt Nam is actively carrying out an action plan towards harmonious and sustainable trade between the two nations. He emphasised the country’s commitment to further opening the Vietnamese market and purchasing more goods and services, including agricultural products, from the US.
The diplomat spoke about the recent efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies of Việt Nam to license 469 meat production facilities, 219 seafood production ones and hi-tech agricultural products of the US, and to organise business delegations to the US to promote beef, corn and soybean import deals.
He also asked the US side to soon license Việt Nam’s fresh pomelos, allow the Hà Nội Irradiation Centre to irradiate fresh fruits for export, and permit the use of steam as one of the methods for handling fruits destined for the US.
For his part, Under Secretary of Agriculture McKinney highly valued Việt Nam’s active implementation of the countries’ agricultural cooperation agreements.
He stressed the US Government’s support for the use of safe agricultural chemicals, and asked Việt Nam to continue considering the regulations related to certificates of free sale in Decree 13 that guides the enforcement of the Law on Animal Husbandry. — VNS