Vietnam to strengthen ties with African nations

29/05/2008 -- 10:16 PM

Tokyo (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai says Vietnam will continue to expand cooperation with African nations in all spheres. Speaking at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Japan on May 29, Deputy PM Hai said Vietnam is carrying out the 2004-2010 Vietnam-Africa Action Plan with concrete cooperation areas and needed measures. Vietnam is willing to share experiences and ideas with a view to promoting economic growth in Africa, and participate in the New Partnership for Africa ’s Development (NEPAD) initiative in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, education, science and technology, he said. The deputy PM affirmed Vietnam ’s support for the multilateral cooperation, especially the models of 2+1 and 3+1 that are appropriate for both Vietnam and African countries. Vietnam also supported the implementation of the model “Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP)” and tripartite cooperation between Vietnam , Japan and an African country as a pilot programme in the agriculture and industrial areas. Deputy PM Hai said two agricultural cooperation projects between Vietnam , Japan and Mozambique will be the first step of the model. He said Vietnam welcomed and attached importance to the cooperation with Japan to carry out the NEPAD initiative to help African countries successfully implement the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The official said economic development should be combined with social development and progress, particularly in targeting hunger eradication and poverty reduction as well as human development, to create an equal opportunity for everyone to benefit from economic growth. He highlighted Vietnam ’s economic achievements over the past 20 years, noting that the country has successfully achieved many of the UN MDGs. The country’s poverty rate reduced to 14.8 percent in 2007 from 58 percent in 1993, literacy rate reached 95 percent, 75 percent of the rural population were provided with safe water, and Internet users accounted for 21.8 percent of the population. On the sidelines of the meeting, Deputy PM Hai met with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura who applauded Vietnam’s participation in the event as well as its role in implementing the tripartite cooperation model between Japan, Vietnam and an African nation. The deputy PM also met with leaders of African countries, including Central Africa and Madagascar . At another meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong spoke of Vietnam ’s agricultural development through its extensive and intensive reforms. Bong said to resolve the problem of food shortages and to ensure long-term food security, agricultural development should be given more attention through strong political commitments and commensurate investments to utilise available land and other natural resources more effectively and to apply new technologies for boosting productivity. Vietnam , he said, wished to participate in the world’s food security and poverty reduction programmes, and is ready to share its lessons and experiences with other countries. To date, Vietnam has undertaken technical cooperation progammes in agriculture with several African countries under the South-south cooperation Programme with financial assistance from developed countries and international organisations. The programmes have been appreciated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and African nations, the deputy minister said.-Enditem
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