March 20, 2023

Norway embassy co-hosts seminar focused on aquaculture cooperation with Vietnam

The Embassy of Norway along with Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) co-hosted a seminar called "Norway-Vietnam: Cooperation opportunities in aquaculture and seafood" on last February in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The seminar was attended by Ambassador of Norway to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, Director General of the Fisheries Department Tran Dinh Luan, SEA director of the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) Asbjørn Warvik Rørtveit and State Secretary of Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Erling Rimestad.

The purpose of the event was to discuss the potential for business-to-business cooperation in aquaculture and processing and import-export of seafood products as well as for both countries to share their experiences and expertise and learn from each other, the Voice of Vietnam reported.

In addition, the announcement of an official plan to be more active in Vietnam was made by Rørtveit during the seminar.

"In 2023, NSC will strengthen promotional activities in Vietnam so that many consumers know about the presence of Norwegian seafood, as well as build programmes to meet, connect and promote trade between import and export enterprises of the two countries," said Rørtveit. "Any Vietnamese importer can register to use the trademark "Seafood from Norway" to attach to their products. The simple registration process will bring great benefits to businesses when the demand for product origin transparency is increasing in the Vietnamese market."

Considering that Norway and Vietnam are at the top list of seafood exporters in the world, Rimestad said both countries are "in the fortunate position that this does not make us competitors – in fact we complement each other as seafood nations."

According to the Voice of Vietnam, the two countries have not focused on only implementing their cooperation on the fields but they also intend to boost their fisheries industry with greener and sustainable practices.

- ScandAsia