Sri Lanka and Vietnam have signed a MoU over a Agriculture technical exchange programme.
The MoU was signed by visiting Vietnam Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Minh Hoan Le and his Sri Lankan counterpart – Mahinda Amaraweera on the sidelines of the 37th Session of FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Minister Minh Hoan Le had met with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister – Dinesh Gunawardena at Temple Trees yesterday (20) where they discussed close bilateral ties and ways and means of enhancing cooperation in many spheres, especially on rural development and social empowerment.
Vietnam Minister thanked Sri Lanka for the support extended during the Vietnamese liberation movement. He said Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to recognize Vietnam immediately after its independence and unification.
The Prime Minister congratulated Vietnam for the success of rapid economic development after gaining independence after a valiant freedom struggle. He praised the innovative methods adopted by Vietnam to successfully attract foreign investments and requested to share its experience with Sri Lanka for modernization of agriculture.
Minister Minh Hoan Le acceded to the Prime Minister’s request and added that Vietnam considers Sri Lanka as a special friend and his country cold share expertise in digital agriculture and smart agriculture.
He said both countries with rich background of Buddhism and socialism have a similar approach to people-oriented development. Hence both countries emphasize on rural upliftment trough agriculture development, he said.
The high-level Vietnam delegation included Ambassador Ho Thi Thanh Truc, Director Generals, Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Le Trung Quan, Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Huynh Tan Dat and Le Duc Thinh.
Minister Douglas Devananda, State Minister Anupa Pasqual, MP Yadamini Gunawardena, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake, Chairman of national Science Foundation Prof Ranjith Senarathne and Director General of Foreign Ministry, Shashikala Premawardane also took part in the discussion.
