Vietnam - Rwanda promote cooperation in agriculture and environment

On April 17, within the framework of the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit held in Hanoi, Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy had a bilateral working session with Ms. Valentine Uwamanriya, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda.

At the reception, Minister Do Duc Duy expressed his delight in welcoming the Minister and the Rwandan delegation to Vietnam to attend the P4G Summit, an important international forum promoting dialogue and action for green growth and sustainable development.

The meeting is a testament to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries, opening up opportunities to share experiences, orient visions, and initiate specific cooperation programs in the future, especially in the fields of agriculture and the environment.

At the meeting, Minister Valentine Uwamanriya informed that Rwanda is one of the pioneering countries in Africa, with strong policies in place, including a ban on plastic bags since 2008, a green growth strategy, biodiversity conservation, and an active role in international environmental forums.

Minister Do Duc Duy highly appreciated Rwanda’s efforts in environmental protection and sustainable development. According to the Minister, Vietnam and Rwanda are said to have many similarities in development orientation, as they both prioritize the protection of natural resources, combating climate change and improving the quality of life for the people.

With Rwanda's proposals, Minister Do Duc Duy agreed that Vietnam and Rwanda will promote cooperation in areas such as: responding to climate change, especially sharing experiences in disaster risk management and community protection; building and operating a system to monitor and control air, water and soil pollution , to improve the effectiveness of environmental management and public health.

With the ambitious goal of the Global Agreement on Plastic Pollution, Vietnam acknowledges and appreciates Rwanda's positive contributions to this issue and commits to continuing to accompany and cooperate closely with Rwanda in the next rounds of negotiations.

In the field of agriculture, one of the economic pillars of both countries, Minister Do Duc Duy affirmed his willingness to share experiences in production reform, irrigation, and rice cultivation, especially through the “2+1” cooperation model being implemented with a number of African countries. The Vietnamese side also emphasized the potential to promote tripartite cooperation in this field.

Since the signing of the Agricultural Cooperation Agreement in 2008 (and its amendment in 2011), Vietnam has sent technical delegations to Rwanda to conduct surveys, research and provide advice on the development of inland aquaculture. The two Ministers agreed that the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural sector remains enormous, especially in the context of global challenges to food security and sustainable development.

Vietnam proposed signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agricultural and environmental cooperation to create a favorable legal framework and supplement resources for specific cooperation programs in the future, with a focus on key areas such as clean energy development, opening agricultural product markets, and preferential tax policies.

At the end of the working session, Minister Do Duc Duy and Minister Valentine Uwamanriya expressed their belief that, with the foundation of a strong diplomatic relationship of more than half a century, along with a spirit of proactive and substantive cooperation, the relationship between the two countries will continue to develop even more strongly.

The Vietnamese Minister also expressed his hope that Minister Valentine Uwamanriya will soon pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future to promote deeper bilateral cooperation, especially in areas of mutual interest such as agriculture and environment.

The P4G Conference (Hanoi, April 15-17, 2025), with the theme "Sustainable, People-Centered Green Transformation" is the largest multilateral high-level event on green growth hosted by Vietnam during the 2021-2026 period. Agriculture and Environment Newspaper will update throughout the strong commitments, proactive role and international responsibility of Vietnam within the framework of the P4G Conference.