FAO Director-General: Vietnam will double its GDP in the coming years.

On the afternoon of February 6th, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Khuat Dong Ngoc, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and his delegation who were visiting and working in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Mr. Khuat Dong Ngoc, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who is visiting and working in Vietnam - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The FAO was established on October 16, 1945, and currently has 192 member countries. Since the FAO established relations with Vietnam and opened a representative office in Hanoi in 1978, the relationship between Vietnam and the FAO has developed well.

Currently, Vietnam and FAO are jointly implementing the Cooperation Framework Program for the period 2022-2026, focusing on four pillars: (i) better production; (ii) better nutrition; (iii) better environment; and (iv) better lives, through 16 projects with a total budget of nearly 30 million USD.

The Director-General of FAO is on a visit aimed at further promoting cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of agriculture, food security, environmental protection, and rural development in the new context of global trade and climate change.

Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that Vietnam highly values its cooperative relationship with FAO over the years, both during the very difficult period in the past and during the current period of national development, especially in promoting agricultural and rural development and the transformation of the food system for sustainability.

The Prime Minister expressed special thanks to FAO for mobilizing emergency support resources (worth US$1.9 million) to help Vietnamese people recover from Typhoon Yagi in September 2024; and expressed confidence that the cooperative relationship between FAO and Vietnam will continue to develop.

The Prime Minister requested FAO to continue supporting Vietnam in the process of restructuring the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and green, sustainable, and smart development, responding to climate change; industrialization and urbanization of rural areas, and developing green, clean, and beautiful rural areas… - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

On the international stage, the Prime Minister congratulated and highly appreciated the FAO for its important achievements and contributions as a key international forum, a leading source of knowledge, advice, and financial mobilization and provision in the field of food and agriculture, with many initiatives that are in line with the interests of developing countries.

The Prime Minister stated that in 2024, although the agricultural sector's share of GDP will only be around 11%, Vietnam's agricultural sector will continue to affirm its important role as a pillar of the economy, ensuring food security, contributing to social stability and people's livelihoods, and ensuring social welfare, leaving no one behind.

Vietnam has also always actively participated in many international initiatives and efforts to contribute to ensuring global food security and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Citing the Vietnamese saying, "A little help when hungry is worth more than a lot when full," the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam always appreciates the help of the international community during difficult times and has now made many important contributions to world food security, especially by increasing rice exports when some countries restrict rice exports due to supply chain disruptions.

Currently, Vietnam is implementing several major programs and projects, such as the "National Action Plan for Transforming the Food System into a Transparent, Responsible, and Sustainable Food System in Vietnam by 2030"; and the "Sustainable Development of 1 Million Hectares of High-Quality Rice, Reducing Emissions and Promoting Green Growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" project.

To enhance cooperation between the two sides, the Prime Minister requested FAO to continue supporting Vietnam in the process of restructuring the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and green, sustainable, and smart development, responding to climate change; industrializing and urbanizing rural areas, developing green, clean, and beautiful rural areas; and promoting digital transformation…

Vietnam will cooperate with FAO to successfully organize the program commemorating the 80th anniversary of FAO's founding in 2025, as well as other international cooperation programs, such as sharing experiences with African countries in exploiting land potential and eradicating hunger and poverty.

FAO Director-General Khuất Đông Ngọc affirmed that Vietnam is a model country with valuable achievements and lessons that many countries admire and want to learn from; FAO always supports Vietnam's initiatives in sustainable and green agriculture. - Photo: VGP/Nhật Bắc

For his part, FAO Director-General Khuất Đông Ngọc highly appreciated Vietnam's development achievements in poverty reduction, improving people's lives, and developing agriculture, exemplified by the very successful implementation of the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program, and the export of agricultural products, especially rice and fruits.

He believes that Vietnam will continue to develop strongly, especially in 2025, and could double its GDP in the coming years, on its way to becoming a high-income country, bringing increasingly prosperous and happy lives to its people.

The Director-General affirmed that Vietnam is a model country with valuable achievements and lessons that many countries admire and want to learn from; FAO always supports Vietnam's initiatives in sustainable and green agriculture, such as the program of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice.

According to Mr. Khuat Dong Ngoc, despite having limited land resources, Vietnam is in a historical position with conditions unmatched by any other country to transform its agriculture and food production into a more sustainable, inclusive, efficient, and resilient system, contributing more to the world, especially with Vietnamese farmers being relatively young and receiving attention and investment from the State.

Director-General Khuất Đông Ngọc suggested that Vietnam continue to strengthen cooperation with FAO, especially by playing a crucial role in coordinating the successful implementation of trilateral cooperation programs between FAO, Vietnam, and African countries, as well as South-South cooperation, contributing to the development and transformation of sustainable agriculture and food security worldwide.

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