ISG plenary meeting to promote Vietnam's agricultural development in the context of COVID-19 impacts

On December 11, 2020 in Hanoi, the International Cooperation Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the International Support Group (ISG), organized the ISG 2020 plenary meeting with the subject: "Vietnam's agriculture and rural development in the context of COVID-19 impacts: Opportunities and challenges".

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh together and the United Nations Development Program Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen co-chair the meeting.

The ISG plenary meeting is a high-level policy dialogue forum held annually between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the community of international sponsors, business groups and partners to cooperate, exchange and share policy directions and priorities of both sides to promote international cooperation, strengthen coordination of resources to promote Vietnam's agricultural development towards a sustainable and inclusive direction.

2020 is a difficult year when the world has to struggle to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition to the human damage, the COVID-19 epidemic also had a strong impact on all economies in the world, including Vietnam.

The Covid-19 epidemic is likely to continue to affect in 2020 and the following years, breaking some raw material supply chains and the consumption of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, increasing demand and delaying the negotiation and conclusion of measures to promote market opening between Vietnam and other countries as well as increasing non-tariff market barriers due to concerns of disease outbreaks and recurrences, the requirements for quality of goods and services and the requirements of food hygiene and safety are also increasing.

In such context, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development strives to implement the dual goals set by the Government, focusing its efforts on implementing measures to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic and achieving economy development goals.

Vietnam's agriculture will continue to restructure, utilizing technology in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, while taking advantage of FDI and creating better connection with the export terminals; empowering its position in the supply chain, increasing the value-added content and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

The ISG 2020 Plenary Meeting, with the participation of nearly 200 delegates representing international organizations, businesses and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, relevant ministries / departments / sectors and local authorities, the domestic and international media will be an important event for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to share the priority direction for the development of the sector in the upcoming period, calling upon the international community to join hands and contribute to implementing solutions to cope with the Covid-19 epidemic in the agriculture and rural development sector.

The main objectives of the meeting are to (i) Discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and the Vietnamese economy in general and on the agriculture and rural development sector in particular; (ii) Proposed policy recommendations and solutions to cope with the impacts of Covid-19 in the agriculture and rural development sector; (iii) Develop international cooperation programs and projects focusing on the restoration of agricultural production and businesses, connecting global supply chains in the context of COVID-19.

At the ISG 2020 Plenary Meeting, international organizations such as the International Agricultural Development Fund (IFAD), World Bank (WB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Food and Agriculture Organization The United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international organizations will share research results on assessing the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on the economy and the production of farm households; agricultural enterprises; the disruption in the agro-commodity supply chain; environmental hazards and national as well as global food security issues along withpolicy recommendations and proposed solutions for agricultural development in the context of Covid-19.

The ISG 2020 Plenary Meeting will also adopt a Joint Statement of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with key international partners on resilience and recovery from Covid-19. The joint statement demonstrates a high commitment to continue cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and development partners to promote sustainable agricultural and rural development in Vietnam, contributing to the implementation of Government "dual" goals.