The event was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in both in-person and teleconference formats.
To increase Vietnamese aquatic products’ presence in Australia, Metcalfe suggested the two sides step up information sharing and technical assistance, thus helping Vietnamese producers better satisfy quarantine standards set by Australia.
Enhancing vaccinations would help Vietnamese and Australian businesses, including those operating in the fishery sector, step up trading activities, the official said.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Quang Minh said Australia has become one of Vietnam’s ten biggest trade partners, adding that Vietnam’s fishery export to the country expanded by 35 percent in the first eight months of this year despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He used the occasion to thank Australia for its donation of COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies to Vietnam.
Head of the Vietnamese Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Dinh Luan said Vietnam’s aquatic products have met Global Gap and ASC standards as well as those on product origin.
According to VASEP Deputy Secretary To Thi Tuong Lan, Vietnam will intensify technological application, work harder to satisfy requirements on production and environmental protection, boost cooperation with international organisations to supervise production, and step up research to ensure food safety.
The participating Australian businesses suggested Vietnamese firms foster cooperation in procedures as prescribed in such agreements as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to which both countries are signatories.
Vietnam needs to quickly apply electronic certification to facilitate its fishery export amid the pandemic spread, they said.
