A 2-million-USD project funded by the French Government to aidVietnam and other Mekong subregion countries to improve their legalsystems on geographical indication was launched at a ceremony in Hanoion June 25.

Implemented by the United Nations Food AgricultureOrganisation (FAO), the project is expect to foster information exchangeand set links between state-owned areas and private ones to promoteVietnam’s products with geographical indications registered inregional and international markets.

Michel Drobniak from theFrench Embassy in Vietnam said the three-year project will helpbeneficiary countries further boost rural development throughdeveloping geographical indication systems , noting that thefield is important for Vietnam, especially as the country has enteredinto negotiations of free trade agreements with many partners in theworld.

Geographical indication is a sign used to identify wherea product originates from. The reputation of a product bearinggeographical indication is determined by the consumer creditworthinessto that product.
Not only helping safeguard the patentrights of famous traditional products of any country, geographicalindication also assists consumers to easily access high-qualityproducts.

Besides, geographical indication increasesadvantages of a regional product that similar products outside theregion cannot afford. Therefore, the normal selling price of a productwith geographical indication is often higher than that of other similarproducts. In EU, sales of products with geographical indications haveaccounted for billions of EUR.

There have been more than 120geographical indication registered in Asia. It becomes a vital tool fortrade and rural development in many countries.

According to statistics, Vietnam has 38 products with registered geographical indications.-VNA