CSA consultative meeting for the Asia region, June 18th -20th in Hanoi, Viet Nam.
The Governments of Viet Nam, South Africa and the Netherlands co-organized a Consultative meeting, with support from the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), FAO, CGIAR/CCAFS, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Italy, for establishing an Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture.
The meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for the Asia region for discussion and contribution to the establishment of the CSA Alliance, which will be formally launched during the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September 2014.
In his opening speech, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed that this regional consultative meeting is the right time for us to contribute to develop an effective Alliance and gather a broad range of stakeholders, including: central and local governments; food producers, processors and sellers; researchers and educational organizations; civil society and non-governmental organizations; multilateral and international organizations; and private sector into the Alliance's operation. Furthermore, the Minister emphasized that beside the ultimate goal of this new Alliance, i.e encouraging the widespread adoption of climate-smart practices and contributing to significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, more attention should be paid to a mechanism where developed countries assist developing and less and least developed countries to assure their food and nutrition security, then to protect the environment.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Harry Palmier, Senior Partnerships Adviser, Global Forum on Agricultural Research, mentioned, “The launching of the Alliance for CSA next September is not only an objective, but also a breakthrough step towards an action-oriented, inclusive and effective Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture entrusted to develop a responsive Action plan for Climate Smart Agriculture composed of coherent initiatives at national, regional and international levels”.
The launching of the Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (ACSA) is expected to be the first major step towards a set of enhanced and coordinated global actions for Climate Smart Agriculture.
On June 17th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has awarded the medal"For the cause of agriculture and rural development" to Ms. Jennifer Sara, Sector Manager of the Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank (WB) in Viet Nam on the occasion of the completion of her working term in Viet Nam.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on "Food Safety Control", a significant legal framework to promote export and import of agricultural products between the two countries.
"Agriculture in Viet Nam and the Netherlands have similarities in both advantages and challenges. Therefore, the two countries have recently provided effective support for the agricultural sector, especially in terms of food security. Also, the two countries have officially established a strategic partnership for agriculture. This will be a great opportunity for agricultural cooperation between the two countries with the goal of making Vietnam become the Netherlands of Asia", the Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands – Ms. Sharon Dijksma said at the talks.
According to the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, Denmark will disburse 90 million USD in ODA grants to Vietnam in the period 2014-2015. The main focus areas include: green growth; climate change; economic development for private sector; water and sanitation; culture and public governance activities. Denmark pledged to support Vietnam in the fight to reduce poverty and the development a more sustainable economy.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the project "Food safety assurance in the transport and slaughter of livestock and poultry for period 2014-2020". The project aims to control the slaughter and transport of livestock and poultry in the whole country in accordance with the characteristics of each region, assure food safety for domestic consumption and exports and contribute to disease spread prevention and ecological environment protection.
At the meeting to discuss solutions to overcome difficulties and promote export of agricultural and fishery products held by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on June 3th 2014, the two Ministries and other relevant ministries and commodity associations identified the challenges in the consumption of this commodity group and agreed on 5 general solutions to overcome difficulties and promote export of this commodity group.
On May 30th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a ceremony to receive equipment of "Non-project aid for disaster prevention and recovery of areas affected by floods in Vietnam in 2011" funded by the Government of Japan, with total value of 600 million yen.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted The Second Meeting of APTERR Council between May 29th - 30th 2014, with the aim of discussing necessary amendments for financial management rules and procedures of APTERR, identifying a number of fundamental issues of coordination mechanism between ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework and APTERR Fund, and agreeing on the work plan for 2014-2015.
On May 27th, the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Cheil Jedang (CJ) Corporation - South Korea, Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on the implementation of the project "New rural development associated with agricultural value chain development in Ninh Thuan" was held in the city of Phan Ranh, Ninh Thuan province.
The Politburo has issued Conclusion No. 97-KL/TW on a number of policies and solutions to implement Central Resolution 7 (X) on agriculture, farmers and rural areas.
Accordingly, the strategic and innovative Central Resolution 7 (X) on agriculture, farmers and rural areas will be widely implemented in a uniform and serious manner, with the participation of the political system and the people.
To achieve the goals of the Sector restructuring scheme and promote the emulationmovement "The whole country puts joint efforts into new rural development",on behalf of the Official Section of the Communist Party, the ministerial leaders and Emulation and Rewards Council of the Ministry, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has launched the movement"The whole agriculture and rural development sector puts joint efforts into sector restructuring and new rural development"in the period 2014 - 2015 and until 2020, with 5 main contents.
The Government has issued Resolution 31/NQ-CP, dated May 13th 2014, on the Action Programme by the Government for the implementation of Resolution 22-NQ/TW, dated April 10th 2013, of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on international integration.
On May 19th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a consultation workshop on the draft scheme "Strengthening management and attraction of foreign direct investment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the period 2015-2020, with directions to 2030". Minister Cao Duc Phat emphasized that the workshop is a great opportunity for the ministry to listen to the discussion of experts, regulators, domestic and foreign enterprises and international organizations, pointing out the real cause for the "poor" condition of FDI attraction in agriculture and proposing solutions to exploit the full potential, increase farmers' income and bring long-term benefits for investors in agriculture in the future.
The mission led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam including representatives of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, arrived in Washington, D.C, the United States
The Prime Minister issued Decision 644/QD-TTg, dated May 5th 2014, approving the Scheme "Supporting small and medium enterprises indeveloping sectoral linking clusters in the value chain of agricultural and rural sector",implemented in2014-2018.
The National Action Plan on Green Growth was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 403/QD-TTG, dated March 20th 2014. International donors highly appreciate this Plan and stress that green growth is a huge step of economic restructuring in Vietnam. This is an impressive triumph of Vietnam in the roadmap of response to climate change, making a tremendous impact on socioeconomic development and an important goal in the industrialization and modernization process of the country.
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 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",...
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
On June 17th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has awarded the medal"For the cause of agriculture and rural development" to Ms. Jennifer Sara, Sector Manager of the Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank (WB) in Viet Nam on the occasion of the completion of her working term in Viet Nam.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on "Food Safety Control", a significant legal framework to promote export and import of agricultural products between the two countries.
"Agriculture in Viet Nam and the Netherlands have similarities in both advantages and challenges. Therefore, the two countries have recently provided effective support for the agricultural sector, especially in terms of food security. Also, the two countries have officially established a strategic partnership for agriculture. This will be a great opportunity for agricultural cooperation between the two countries with the goal of making Vietnam become the Netherlands of Asia", the Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands – Ms. Sharon Dijksma said at the talks.
According to the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, Denmark will disburse 90 million USD in ODA grants to Vietnam in the period 2014-2015. The main focus areas include: green growth; climate change; economic development for private sector; water and sanitation; culture and public governance activities. Denmark pledged to support Vietnam in the fight to reduce poverty and the development a more sustainable economy.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the project "Food safety assurance in the transport and slaughter of livestock and poultry for period 2014-2020". The project aims to control the slaughter and transport of livestock and poultry in the whole country in accordance with the characteristics of each region, assure food safety for domestic consumption and exports and contribute to disease spread prevention and ecological environment protection.
At the meeting to discuss solutions to overcome difficulties and promote export of agricultural and fishery products held by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on June 3th 2014, the two Ministries and other relevant ministries and commodity associations identified the challenges in the consumption of this commodity group and agreed on 5 general solutions to overcome difficulties and promote export of this commodity group.
On May 30th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a ceremony to receive equipment of "Non-project aid for disaster prevention and recovery of areas affected by floods in Vietnam in 2011" funded by the Government of Japan, with total value of 600 million yen.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted The Second Meeting of APTERR Council between May 29th - 30th 2014, with the aim of discussing necessary amendments for financial management rules and procedures of APTERR, identifying a number of fundamental issues of coordination mechanism between ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework and APTERR Fund, and agreeing on the work plan for 2014-2015.
On May 27th, the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Cheil Jedang (CJ) Corporation - South Korea, Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on the implementation of the project "New rural development associated with agricultural value chain development in Ninh Thuan" was held in the city of Phan Ranh, Ninh Thuan province.
The Politburo has issued Conclusion No. 97-KL/TW on a number of policies and solutions to implement Central Resolution 7 (X) on agriculture, farmers and rural areas. 
To achieve the goals of the Sector restructuring scheme and promote the emulationmovement "The whole country puts joint efforts into new rural development",on behalf of the Official Section of the Communist Party, the ministerial leaders and Emulation and Rewards Council of the Ministry, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has launched the movement"The whole agriculture and rural development sector puts joint efforts into sector restructuring and new rural development"in the period 2014 - 2015 and until 2020, with 5 main contents.
The Government has issued Resolution 31/NQ-CP, dated May 13th 2014, on the Action Programme by the Government for the implementation of Resolution 22-NQ/TW, dated April 10th 2013, of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on international integration.
On May 19th 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a consultation workshop on the draft scheme "Strengthening management and attraction of foreign direct investment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the period 2015-2020, with directions to 2030". Minister Cao Duc Phat emphasized that the workshop is a great opportunity for the ministry to listen to the discussion of experts, regulators, domestic and foreign enterprises and international organizations, pointing out the real cause for the "poor" condition of FDI attraction in agriculture and proposing solutions to exploit the full potential, increase farmers' income and bring long-term benefits for investors in agriculture in the future.
The mission led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam including representatives of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, arrived in Washington, D.C, the United States
The Prime Minister issued Decision 644/QD-TTg, dated May 5th 2014, approving the Scheme "Supporting small and medium enterprises indeveloping sectoral linking clusters in the value chain of agricultural and rural sector",implemented in2014-2018.
The National Action Plan on Green Growth was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 403/QD-TTG, dated March 20th 2014. International donors highly appreciate this Plan and stress that green growth is a huge step of economic restructuring in Vietnam. This is an impressive triumph of Vietnam in the roadmap of response to climate change, making a tremendous impact on socioeconomic development and an important goal in the industrialization and modernization process of the country.
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 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. 
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.