Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and South Korea have agreed to strengthen practical and sustainable cooperation in agricultural trade, focusing on market access, the removal of technical barriers, and a plan to establish a joint working group to support businesses from both countries. The agreement was reached on January 16 during talks between Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang and South Korean Ambassador to Viet Nam Choi Youngsam. The proposed working group would facilitate investment, business linkages and deeper participation in bilateral agricultural value chains.
Agriculture, environment highlighted as key areas of cooperation
At the meeting, Ambassador Choi conveyed New Year greetings to the ministry’s leadership and said the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment remains one of South Korea’s key partners. He highlighted Viet Nam’s achievements in agriculture and environmental management, noting that exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products exceeded 70 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting the country’s increasingly important role in global supply chains.
Referring to the state visit to South Korea by Communist Party of Viet Nam General Secretary To Lam in August 2025, the ambassador said the two sides had agreed to identify agriculture as a core pillar of bilateral cooperation. South Korea seeks to further promote substantive cooperation in agriculture, environment, climate change response and disaster risk management, while expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation frameworks.
On humanitarian assistance and development cooperation, Ambassador Choi expressed sympathy with the Vietnamese government and people over losses caused by natural disasters in the past year. He said South Korea’s president and foreign minister had sent letters of condolence and that emergency and supplementary assistance packages had been provided, in coordination with international organizations, to support housing reconstruction in affected areas. South Korea values the effectiveness of its assistance programs in Vietnam and hopes to maintain long-term cooperation.
In official development assistance (ODA), South Korea considers Viet Nam a priority partner, with several major projects under way, including mangrove forest restoration, agricultural value chain development, food processing and smart farming. The ambassador welcomed the results of the Ma River Basin water resources management project and called for continued support from the ministry to advance capacity-building and climate change adaptation projects.
Ambassador Choi said the two sides are completing procedures to open the Vietnamese market to processed chicken products and expressed hope for the ministry’s support to ensure smooth implementation. The two countries are also coordinating quarantine procedures for South Korean products such as beef, kiwi and mandarins, while calling for faster completion of market access procedures for Viet Nam’s key products, including lychee and passion fruit, to further expand bilateral agricultural trade.
Viet Nam proposes expanding agricultural trade and investment for 2026–2030
Speaking at the meeting, Minister Tran Duc Thang thanked the South Korean government and people for their practical support and praised Ambassador Choi’s role in promoting the Viet Nam–South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, bilateral ties have continued to strengthen and become more substantive.
South Korea is currently Viet Nam’s largest foreign investor, with more than 10,000 projects and total registered foreign direct investment exceeding 95 billion U.S. dollars. It is also a major ODA partner and an active partner in trade and labor cooperation. In agriculture, forestry and fisheries, key products such as seafood, wood products, coffee, pepper and fruits and vegetables continue to play an important role in bilateral trade.
Responding to the ambassador’s proposals, the minister called for early agreement on opening the market to processed chicken products and for studies on market access for unprocessed pork, poultry and eggs, while ensuring quarantine and animal health requirements. He also supported accelerating procedures for market access for Viet Nam’s lychee and passion fruit and South Korea’s Unshu mandarins and kiwi, and proposed establishing an annual dialogue mechanism to address sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade (SPS/TBT).
On agricultural investment and business cooperation, the ministry proposed establishing a joint working group to support South Korean agricultural investors in Viet Nam and stepping up investment promotion in areas where South Korea has strengths, including high-tech agriculture, seed technology, vaccines, agricultural processing, logistics and agricultural supply chain services. Viet Nam encourages South Korean companies to invest across the entire agricultural value chain, from production and processing to distribution and procurement.
In environment and sustainable development, the minister said the two sides plan to hold a ministerial dialogue on environmental cooperation in the second quarter of 2026. He also proposed developing a bilateral cooperation program on the circular economy and carbon neutrality, implementing projects on biodiversity conservation and coastal and mangrove ecosystem restoration, and cooperating on environmental monitoring systems, early warning and human resource training.
Minister Tran Duc Thang said the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment stands ready to work closely with relevant South Korean agencies, hold regular meetings of the joint working group, and swiftly develop and implement a Viet Nam–South Korea action plan on agricultural cooperation for 2026–2030, aiming to elevate bilateral cooperation in agriculture, environment and sustainable development.
That is the central message of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management 2025. This year’s commemorative activities focus on young people, the future stewards of the nation, with the belief that investing in youth today means laying the strongest foundation for a safer and more sustainable tomorrow. Equipping the younger generation with knowledge, skills, and awareness in disaster prevention and response is an investment in the collective “resilience” of the entire community.
On October 8 in Hanoi, Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang received Mr. Pekka Voutilainen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to Vietnam.
This was affirmed by Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep during a meeting with Ms. Pauline Tamesis, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, on September 24 at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) headquarters. Lessons learned from Typhoon Yagi and recent natural disasters underscore the importance of accurate situation assessment, proper planning, and timely assistance. This also serves as a basis for strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and the United Nations to enhance disaster response capacity amid complex climate change developments.
On 23 September, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam met with Mr. Adham Omar, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Egypt in Vietnam, at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. During the session, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam highlighted the significant untapped potential and opportunities in agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt, following up on Vietnamese President Luong Cuong’s recent official visit to Egypt and aiming to boost bilateral agricultural trade.
On September 23, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang received and held talks with Ms. Mariam Sherman, World Bank (WB) Division Director for Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. The discussions centered on key projects in agriculture, irrigation, climate change, and fisheries, while also charting the direction for a high-level strategic cooperation framework in the years ahead.
