The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the "Restructuring scheme of irrigation sector" in Decision 794/QD-BNN-TCTL dated April 21st 2014 with the objectives: improving efficiency of irrigation sector to contribute to agricultural restructuring towards greater added value and sustainable development; meeting the development requirements of socioeconomic sectors; building capacity for disaster prevention and response to climate change; contributing to modernization of agricultural and rural infrastructure and new rural development.
The required task is developing a proactive and modern irrigated agriculture and promoting advanced and water-saving irrigation solutions on a large scale for main upland crops such as coffee, pepper, tea, cashew, sugarcane, fruit trees... The focus areas are Central Highlands, Southeast, Central Coast and Northern mountains.
Further tasks include developing irrigation infrastructure for intensive aquaculture zones with main objects (Asian tiger shrimp, whiteleg shrimp, shark catfish, tilapia) in the Mekong Delta and Central Coast; enhancing assurance levels of prevention of disasters, hurricanes and floods and safety of reservoirs and dams; promoting proactive prevention, avoidance or adaptation in the context of climate change and sea level rise to reduce losses, protect the residents and assure production stability and development; improving efficiency of disaster risk and dam safety management by applying advanced technologies and enhancing capacity for disaster forecast and forecast photos, with priority for non-structural solutions.
The major implemented solutions are innovations in planning, including irrigation planning associated with agricultural restructuring, application of advanced irrigation technology and reorganization of agricultural production. Besides, innovations in technology include research on equipment integration; forecast capacity enhancement; warning of flood, drought and saltwater intrusion; research on hydrological regimes and flows to improve the quality of reservoir operation process, particularly emergency situations.
The State Bank of Vietnam and the World Bank(WB) has signed financing agreements andrelated legal documents with a total budget of 390 million USD for 3 projects including: Central Highlands Poverty Reduction Project (150 million USD), Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (180 million USD) and Social Assistance System Strengthening Project (60 million USD).
The Prime Minister has signed Decision No. 596/QD-TTg, dated April 23th 2014,on the establishment of the National Steering Committee forinternational integration.The Headof the National Steering Committee forinternational integration is Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.The Deputy Headof the National Steering Committee arethe Deputy Prime Ministers:Vu Van Ninh, Vu Duc Dam, Pham Binh Minh.
The inter-ministerial mission led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, Chairman of the Sub-Committee of the Joint Committee attended the first meeting of Vietnam - Sudan Joint Committee in Khartoum, Sudan in April 14th – 16th of 2014. Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt and Sudan concurrently also attended the meeting.
On April 9th 2014, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT guiding the assignment and coordination in state management on food safety, which stipulates that each product or each production facility or each business establishment is only managed by 01 state agency.
During the official visit to Vietnam of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, on April 7th 2014, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat and the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria Dimitar Grekov signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
On April 10th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and ASEAN Secretariat held a Consultation Workshop on ASEAN Integrated Food Security framework (AIFS) and Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN region (SPA-FS) in period 2015-2019, with the aim of receiving consultation, raising awareness and strengthening coordination of relevant agencies in the implementation of AIFS and SPA-FS in Vietnam and ASEAN member countries in period 2015-2019
On April 11th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held the Agricultural Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Task Force Meeting with the aim of updating the progress of activities in 2013, discussing plans of commodity groups in 2014, considering scaling up PPP implementation in Vietnam, and implementing Strategy New Vision for agriculture in period 2014-2016.
President Truong Tan Sang wrapped up his visit to Japan (March 16-19, 2014), which elevated the relation between two countries to a new level: Extensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.
"Vietnam Seafood - Integration and Development" is the theme of Vietnam Seafood Festival 2014 held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Coordinating Board of the Central Coastal Region in collaboration with Provincial People's Committee of Phu Yen.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued Decision No. 438/QD-BNN-TY dated March 13th 2014 on the approval of the Nationalplan for prevention ofavian influenzain the period 2014-2018. The goal of the plan is tocontrollarge-scale outbreaks of the disease andestablishavianinfluenza safetyzones, creating a foundation to move to the phaseof eradication of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Vietnam asfrom2018.
From 10 to 14 March 2014, the 32nd session of the FAORegional Conference for Asia and the Pacific(APRC32) was heldin Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. About 250 participants from 41 countries in the region attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister hasissued Decisions No. 371/QD-TTgdated March 13th 2014 on the appointment of Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development served asthe Vice Chairman ofCentral Steering Committee for the National Target Program on New Rural Developmentperiod 2010-2020.
The Prime Minister has signed Decision 217/QD-TTg dated February 7th 2014 on the approval of the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Mozambique on the project "Cooperation in research and development of food crops in Mozambique for the period 2013 - 2017"
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the documents of the project "Enhancing readiness for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA): Building capacity for the integrated food-energy system in Vietnam - UNJP/VIE/054/UNJ" funded by One UN through FAO with a total budget of 770,000 USD and implemented in 3 years according to Decision No. 366/QD-BNN-HTQT dated March 5th 2014).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued the decision approving the project document "United Nations Joint Programme support for the implementation of the National Target Program on new rural development"
On February 24th 2014, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat signed Decision No. 270/QD-BNN-TCCB giving the medal "For the cause of agriculture and rural development" to Mr. Akira Shimizu, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam, who has meritorious contribution to agriculture and rural development in Vietnam.
On February 7th 2014, the Prime Minister approved the Strategy for management of special-use forests, marine protected areas and inland water protected areas in Vietnam until 2020 and vision to 2030 in Decision No. 218/QD-TTg.
To encourage the use of high technology in agricultural development with new strategies to promote agricultural restructuring and advice on food security strategies at national and provincial level and exploit the potential of rural areas in Vietnam through the coordination of technical assistance of the United Nations System
On January 9th 2014, the Ministry of Planning and Investment issued Circular No. 01/2014/TT-BKHDT guiding a number of articles of Decree No. 38/2013/ND-CP dated April 23th 2013 of the Government on use and management of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans from donors.
In order to reach the targets of 2014: national GDP growth shall be 5,8%; export turnover increases about 10%; poverty rate decreases 1.7% - 2%, 4% particularly in poor districts; create employment for about 1.6 million labors; unemployment rate in urban area is lower than 4%; and 85% of facilities/base who heavily violate the environmental regulation will be handled;
On 31/12/2013, Prime Minister issued the Decision No 2621/QĐ-TTg adjusting and supplementing some support norms for production development in the Decree No 30a/2008/NQ-CP dated27/12/2008 by the Government on the fast and sustainable poverty reduction for poor districts. The support norm increased 1.5 - 02 times compared to before.
On November 26th 2013, the Government issued Decree No. 199/2013/ND-CP regulating functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
On December 2th 2013, the 38th Ministerial Meeting of the interest group of agricultural exporting countries (Cairns Group) of the WTO was held in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9), the Cairns Group Ministers officially admitted Vietnam as the 20th member of the Group.
At the conclusion of the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum 2013, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh stated that international donors highly appreciate the management and effective use of ODA in the past 20 years for economic development and especially poverty reduction in Vietnam and now Vietnam has stepped into a new chapter in cooperation with the development partners.
The Prime Minister has approved the project "Strengthening capacity for information, education and communication in the field of food safety to support the implementation of the Law on Food Safety and the National Strategy on Food Safety for the period 2011-2020 and vision to 2030", funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the period 2013-2016 with a total budget of 2.2 million USD in the Decision No. 2413/QD-TTg dated December 11th 2013.
December 12th 2013 - Hanoi: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, International Cooperation Department through International Support Group (ISG) with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held the 2013 ISG Plenary Meeting on the theme "International Economic Integration for Agriculture in Viet Nam: New Challenges and Opportunities".
On October 30th 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a workshop announcing the results of project "Assessment of impacts of WTO accession and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on agriculture and rural development" through the support of the Beyond WTO Program.
According to the Resolution approved by the Congress, the general objectives of 2014 are: "Maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation; assuring reasonable growth and improving the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of economy on the basis of the implementation of three groundbreaking strategies associated with growth model innovation and economic restructuring; assuring social security and social welfare
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh delivered an opening speech at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) High-Level Meeting on Disaster Prevention and Relief in Response to Climate Change in Hanoi on 18thNovember2013, calling for cooperation in disaster risk reduction, management and mitigation.
Vietnamand Namibia have signed agreements to boost their cooperation in diplomacy and agriculture. The deals were reached during Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s State visit to Vietnam from November 18-20, which was described by President Truong Tan Sang as a momentum to bring bilateral ties to a new period of development in a deep and result-oriented way.
At the International conference "Approaches to new rural development in Vietnam" recently held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Vietnam Science Association for Rural Development (PHANO), the delegates agreed that the results of three year implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Development were not as good as expected due to lack of consensus on the scientific approaches and specific action plans and the policies should be improved to enhance the efficiency of the program.
The 35th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), the 13th ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF+3) and the 3rd ASEAN - India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry took place from September 26th to 28th, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
With the support of FAO, PPP Working GroupandISG, the International Cooperation Department has carried out activities aimed at raising awareness of key ministerial staff anddevelopingPPP policy in agriculture.The first workshopon"The role of the state in promoting Public Private Partnership in agricultural sector- International Experiences",...
The launching event of FAO Country Programming Framework was held on 14th October 2013 at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MARD, chaired by Madame Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Vice Minister of MARD and Mr. JongHa Bae, FAO Representative in Vietnam.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has signed the Decision No. 1957/QD-BNN-TCCB dated August 23th 2013 on the assignment of Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh to hold concurrently as the Chairman of the Council for Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Deputy Director of the National Program on High Technology Development through 2020 according to Decision No. 1941/QD-BNN-TCCB dated August 22th 2013.
The Prime Minister has signed Decision No. 1698/QD-TTg dated September 20th 2013 on the transfer and appointment of Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Kien Giang province, served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
As reported, from September 15th to 20th 2013, State President Truong Tan Sang and his wife together with the high-level delegation of Vietnam successfully completed an official state visit to Hungary and the Kingdom of Denmark at the invitation of Hungarian President Janos Ader and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
On September 27th 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference on "The implementation of the agricultural restructuring scheme" to guide the provinces through the implementation of the scheme and adopt the Decision on the establishment of Restructuring Steering Committee of the agriculture and rural development sector, with Minister Cao Duc Phat as the head,
To celebrate 40 years of Vietnam - Japan diplomatic relations, the Organizing Committee of Japan - Vietnam Friendship Year and JICA co-hosted the workshop "Vietnam - Japan disaster prevention cooperation" with the topic: The disaster prevention measures in Japan based on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and JICA's cooperation in disaster prevention in Vietnam, on September 29th 2013 at Melia Hotel, Hanoi.
On August 29th 2013, the Government issued Resolution No. 103/NQ-CP on directions of efficiency improvement in attraction, use and management of foreign direct investment in the coming time, with many significant solutions.
With the permission of the Prime Minister, from August 5th to 8th 2013, Minister Cao Duc Phat had an official visit and attended the annual meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos in two border provinces of Kham Muon and Savannakhet.The purpose of the meeting is to review the cooperation situation of 2012 - 2013 and arrange cooperation activities in 2014.
On July 15th 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced Decision 1066/QD-TTg dated July 8th 2013 of the Prime Minister on the appointment of Mr. Le Quoc Doanh as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development .
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Cao Duc Phat expressed his confidence in the competence and practical experiences of Mr. Le Quoc Doanh to coordinate with the ministerial leaders to effectively manage and conduct the agriculture and rural development sector.
To enhance mobilization, exploitation and efficiency of aids from foreign non-governmental organizations, contributing to poverty reduction and socioeconomic development in Vietnam, on July 10th 2013 , the Prime Minister issued the National program to promote raising of foreign non-governmental aids during 2013 - 2017 period together with Decision No. 40/2013/QD-TTg.
On July 1st, 2013, the Prime Minister signed Decision 1043/QD-TTg approving the industrialization strategy of Vietnam in the framework of Vietnam - Japan cooperation toward 2020, vision to 2030.
In the framework of the South - South cooperation, the delegation of Chad led by the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Dr. Dangde Laobele Damaye visited Vietnam and worked from 28/05/2013 – 03/06/2013 in Hanoi. This working visit lies within the framework of the trilateral cooperation program signed in 2010 and implemented in 2011 and 2012.
On May 30th 2013in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended and delivered the opening speech of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of the parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (COP2).
The 8th meeting of the Vietnam-Iran Joint Committee on Economics and Trade was a good opportunity to enhance the cooperation between two sides in economics, trade, culture and society.
At the reception, Sang highly valued Iran’s remarkable socio-economic development, and stressed that both sides need to seek ways to further tap their potential in economics, trade, culture and society
In the morning of 24th May 2013, Vice Minister of MARD, H.E Ha Cong Tuan and Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E Kimmo Lähdevirta signed the agreement between GoV and the Government of Finland on ODA support for FORMIS 2nd phase.
On 14 May, International Support Group, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, (ISG-MARD) organized the Forum on “Donors Coordination for New Rural Development in Viet Nam” in Ha Noi. There were nearly 100 participants, including multilateral and bilateral donors, international organizations and representatives from the MARD departments and research institutes, associations and the media.
During nearly 40 years of Viet Nam – Japan cooperation, Viet Nam's agricultural sector has received huge support from the Government of Japan with more than 30 technical projects and non-refundable aid with $150 million emergency support; four major loan projects in the field of irrigation and forestry with total loan of nearly $ 500 million.
ISG - International
Support Group, First floor, B4 Building , no 2 Ngoc Ha street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84 - 4) 37711736 Fax : (84-4) 37713071 Email:isgmard@mard.gov.vn
The State Bank of Vietnam and the World Bank(WB) has signed financing agreements andrelated legal documents with a total budget of 390 million USD for 3 projects including: Central Highlands Poverty Reduction Project (150 million USD), Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (180 million USD) and Social Assistance System Strengthening Project (60 million USD).
The Prime Minister has signed Decision No. 596/QD-TTg, dated April 23th 2014,on the establishment of the National Steering Committee forinternational integration.The Headof the National Steering Committee forinternational integration is Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.The Deputy Headof the National Steering Committee arethe Deputy Prime Ministers:Vu Van Ninh, Vu Duc Dam, Pham Binh Minh.
The inter-ministerial mission led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, Chairman of the Sub-Committee of the Joint Committee attended the first meeting of Vietnam - Sudan Joint Committee in Khartoum, Sudan in April 14th – 16th of 2014. Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt and Sudan concurrently also attended the meeting.
On April 9th 2014, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Joint Circular No. 13/2014/TTLT-BYT-BNNPTNT-BCT guiding the assignment and coordination in state management on food safety, which stipulates that each product or each production facility or each business establishment is only managed by 01 state agency.
During the official visit to Vietnam of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, on April 7th 2014, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat and the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria Dimitar Grekov signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
On April 10th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and ASEAN Secretariat held a Consultation Workshop on ASEAN Integrated Food Security framework (AIFS) and Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN region (SPA-FS) in period 2015-2019, with the aim of receiving consultation, raising awareness and strengthening coordination of relevant agencies in the implementation of AIFS and SPA-FS in Vietnam and ASEAN member countries in period 2015-2019 
On April 11th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held the Agricultural Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Task Force Meeting with the aim of updating the progress of activities in 2013, discussing plans of commodity groups in 2014, considering scaling up PPP implementation in Vietnam, and implementing Strategy New Vision for agriculture in period 2014-2016.
President Truong Tan Sang wrapped up his visit to Japan (March 16-19, 2014), which elevated the relation between two countries to a new level: Extensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia. 
"Vietnam Seafood - Integration and Development" is the theme of Vietnam Seafood Festival 2014 held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Coordinating Board of the Central Coastal Region in collaboration with Provincial People's Committee of Phu Yen.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued Decision No. 438/QD-BNN-TY dated March 13th 2014 on the approval of the Nationalplan for prevention ofavian influenzain the period 2014-2018. The goal of the plan is tocontrollarge-scale outbreaks of the disease andestablishavianinfluenza safetyzones, creating a foundation to move to the phaseof eradication of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Vietnam asfrom2018. 
From 10 to 14 March 2014, the 32nd session of the FAORegional Conference for Asia and the Pacific(APRC32) was heldin Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. About 250 participants from 41 countries in the region attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister hasissued Decisions No. 371/QD-TTgdated March 13th 2014 on the appointment of Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development served asthe Vice Chairman ofCentral Steering Committee for the National Target Program on New Rural Developmentperiod 2010-2020.
The Prime Minister has signed Decision 217/QD-TTg dated February 7th 2014 on the approval of the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Mozambique on the project "Cooperation in research and development of food crops in Mozambique for the period 2013 - 2017"
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the documents of the project "Enhancing readiness for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA): Building capacity for the integrated food-energy system in Vietnam - UNJP/VIE/054/UNJ" funded by One UN through FAO with a total budget of 770,000 USD and implemented in 3 years according to Decision No. 366/QD-BNN-HTQT dated March 5th 2014).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued the decision approving the project document "United Nations Joint Programme support for the implementation of the National Target Program on new rural development"
On February 24th 2014, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat signed Decision No. 270/QD-BNN-TCCB giving the medal "For the cause of agriculture and rural development" to Mr. Akira Shimizu, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam, who has meritorious contribution to agriculture and rural development in Vietnam.
On February 7th 2014, the Prime Minister approved the Strategy for management of special-use forests, marine protected areas and inland water protected areas in Vietnam until 2020 and vision to 2030 in Decision No. 218/QD-TTg. 
To encourage the use of high technology in agricultural development with new strategies to promote agricultural restructuring and advice on food security strategies at national and provincial level and exploit the potential of rural areas in Vietnam through the coordination of technical assistance of the United Nations System
On January 9th 2014, the Ministry of Planning and Investment issued Circular No. 01/2014/TT-BKHDT guiding a number of articles of Decree No. 38/2013/ND-CP dated April 23th 2013 of the Government on use and management of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans from donors.
On November 26th 2013, the Government issued Decree No. 199/2013/ND-CP regulating functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
On December 2th 2013, the 38th Ministerial Meeting of the interest group of agricultural exporting countries (Cairns Group) of the WTO was held in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9), the Cairns Group Ministers officially admitted Vietnam as the 20th member of the Group.
At the conclusion of the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum 2013, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh stated that international donors highly appreciate the management and effective use of ODA in the past 20 years for economic development and especially poverty reduction in Vietnam and now Vietnam has stepped into a new chapter in cooperation with the development partners.
On October 30th 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a workshop announcing the results of project "Assessment of impacts of WTO accession and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on agriculture and rural development" through the support of the Beyond WTO Program.
According to the Resolution approved by the Congress, the general objectives of 2014 are: "Maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation; assuring reasonable growth and improving the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of economy on the basis of the implementation of three groundbreaking strategies associated with growth model innovation and economic restructuring; assuring social security and social welfare
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh delivered an opening speech at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) High-Level Meeting on Disaster Prevention and Relief in Response to Climate Change in Hanoi on 18thNovember2013, calling for cooperation in disaster risk reduction, management and mitigation.
At the International conference "Approaches to new rural development in Vietnam" recently held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Vietnam Science Association for Rural Development (PHANO), the delegates agreed that the results of three year implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Development were not as good as expected due to lack of consensus on the scientific approaches and specific action plans and the policies should be improved to enhance the efficiency of the program.
The 35th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), the 13th ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF+3) and the 3rd ASEAN - India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry took place from September 26th to 28th, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The launching event of FAO Country Programming Framework was 
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has signed the Decision No. 1957/QD-BNN-TCCB dated August 23th 2013 on the assignment of Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh to hold concurrently as the Chairman of the Council for Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Deputy Director of the National Program on High Technology Development through 2020 according to Decision No. 1941/QD-BNN-TCCB dated August 22th 2013.
The Prime Minister has signed Decision No. 1698/QD-TTg dated September 20th 2013 on the transfer and appointment of Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Kien Giang province, served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
As reported, from September 15
To celebrate 40 years of Vietnam - Japan diplomatic relations, the Organizing Committee of Japan - Vietnam Friendship Year and JICA co-hosted the workshop "Vietnam - Japan disaster prevention cooperation" with the topic: The disaster prevention measures in Japan based on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and JICA's cooperation in disaster prevention in Vietnam, on September 29th 2013 at Melia Hotel, Hanoi. 
With the permission of the Prime Minister, from August 5th to 8th 2013, Minister Cao Duc Phat had an official visit and attended the annual meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos in two border provinces of Kham Muon and Savannakhet.The purpose of the meeting is to review the cooperation situation of 2012 - 2013 and arrange cooperation activities in 2014.
In the framework of the South - South cooperation, the delegation of Chad led by the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Dr. Dangde Laobele Damaye visited Vietnam and worked from 28/05/2013 – 03/06/2013 in Hanoi. This working visit lies within the framework of the trilateral cooperation program signed in 2010 and implemented in 2011 and 2012.
On May 30th 2013in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended and delivered the opening speech of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of the parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (COP2).
The 8th meeting of the Vietnam-Iran Joint Committee on Economics and Trade was a good opportunity to enhance the cooperation between two sides in economics, trade, culture and society.
On 14 May, International Support Group, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, (ISG-MARD) organized the Forum on “Donors Coordination for New Rural Development in Viet Nam” in Ha Noi. There were nearly 100 participants, including multilateral and bilateral donors, international organizations and representatives from the MARD departments and research institutes, associations and the media.