At the reception, Mr. Dinh La Thang highly valued Vietnam-US relation, especially after the visit of Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong to US in July 2015 and the upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama to Vietnam, saying the visit will open a new chapter of Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership.

Mr. Dinh La Thang said the agricultural co-operation opportunity between US and Vietnam, including HCMC, will be very favorable when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes into effect. For HCMC, he affirmed that there are many fields that both sides can strengthen co-operation in the coming time such as hi-tech agriculture, seedling development, food safety and hygiene, high quality human resource training, etc. He expressed his hope that Mr. Thomas James Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture with help Vietnam in general and HCMC in particular to restructure its agricultural sector, to bring more practical benefits to farmers, to support Vietnamese agricultural sector to integrate into the world.

 
Mr. Thomas J. Vilsack said US Government is urging the US Congress to soon approve TPP before end of Obama’s term. He shared difficulties of Vietnamese farmers in the South caused by drought and climate change, saying that farmers in California are also suffering the same.

He committed to help Vietnamese agricultural sector expand its export market in the USA, exchange experience in fields such as exploitation and efficient use of water, land, livestock, crops, etc.
 

HCM CityWeb