Bilateral relations in the field of agriculture

Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk stressed the importance of the Polish-Vietnamese cooperation in the field of agriculture. He pointed out that Vietnam was a very important partner of Poland among Asian countries. He also expressed gratitude to Minister Le Minh Hoan for the dialogue pursued to date on the issues of access of Polish agri-food products to the Vietnamese market.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam expressed his hopes for further strengthening of the cooperation with Poland in the field of agriculture. Moreover, he pointed out the large potential for interregional cooperation in the context of Poland’s membership in the EU and Vietnam’s membership in the ASEAN.

Establishment of the working group on cooperation in the field of agriculture

In order to further strengthen the relations and, at the same time, to facilitate mutual contacts, the Polish-Vietnamese working group on cooperation in the field of agriculture was officially established during the remote talks. The meetings under this arrangement will be co-headed by the Deputy Ministers of Agriculture of both countries. The work of the group on the Polish side will be coordinated by Mr. Lech Kołakowski, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Trade in agri-food products

As Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk noted, Vietnam is an important recipient of Polish agri-food products. In 2021, the value of the agri-food exports to the Vietnamese market exceeded EUR 143 million. The opportunities for trade in this scope have not been fully used yet and Poland has a negative balance in the trade.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is interested in expanding the assortment of commodities exported to Vietnam, including the conclusion of the approval procedures for beef and bilberry fruit.

Both Parties pointed out the need to take action to intensify the trade in agri-food products and to support the contacts between Polish and Vietnamese entrepreneurs

Talks with the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Poland

The matters addressed during the remote talks between the Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and Vietnam were also discussed in the course of the meeting of Deputy Minister Lech Kołakowski with His Excellency Nguyen Hung, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Poland.

During the meeting the interlocutors primarily focused on laying down the plans for the development of bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Polish-Vietnamese working group on cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Both Deputy Minister Kołakowski and Ambassador Nguyen Hung stressed the multidimensionality and friendly character of the Polish-Vietnamese relations which have already been built for more than 70 years. The deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture also recalled that an important element of the contacts had been the visit paid to Vietnam in 2017 by Mr. Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland.

Referring to the economic potential of both countries, as well as the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which entered into force in August 2020, the interlocutors indicated the prospects for further strengthening of trade contacts, stressing that the export offers of both countries in the scope of agri-food products did not compete but instead complemented each other.