EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh. (Photo: VNA)

Wojciechowski, who is on his first visit to Vietnam as the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, said the EU is investing in some projects on sustainable and smart agriculture in the Southeast Asian nation.

Stressing the importance of small-scale agriculture that produces 30 percent of global food, the EU Commissioner said Vietnam has experience in this field and the two sides should cooperate.

Wojciechowski also expressed his support for the Vietnamese government in sustainable development and protection of agricultural production activities, especially small-scale farming.

For his part, Thanh said the visit by the EU Commissioner offers an opportunity for the two sides to enhance cooperation, particularly in agriculture and trade.

The EU is an important economic partner, the fifth biggest trade partner, the third largest buyer, the fifth largest importer and sixth biggest investor of Vietnam, the official emphasised.

Since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect in August 2020, two-way trade has increased rapidly, reaching nearly 57 billion USD last year, up 15 percent year-on-year.

In the first five months of this year, the value stood at nearly 26.2 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 14.4 percent.

Vietnam stands ready to cooperate with the EU, especially in the global food and foodstuff system building, Thanh said, noting Vietnam wishes to expand collaboration with the bloc in agriculture, especially trade, investment, climate change adaptation, green agriculture, and the building of farm produce supply chains.

The Deputy PM suggested the EU facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural and fishery products to the market, and called on the EU Commissioner to encourage EU firms to invest in Vietnam, focusing on high-tech agriculture and farm produce processing.

Ample room still remains for the bilateral agricultural cooperation, he noted.

Thanh also informed Wojciechowski about Vietnam’s efforts to remove the European Commission (EU)’s 'yellow card' warning on Vietnam’s fishery sector, and proposed the EU soon lift it.

In this regard, the EC Commissioner lauded Vietnam’s progress and urged the country to step up efforts in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.