Rio de Janeiro (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Carlos Fávaro in Rio de Janeiro on July 5 afternoon (local time), on the occasion of his trip to the South American country to attend the expanded BRICS summit and bilateral activities.
PM Chinh affirmed that the two countries have great potential to develop agricultural cooperation on the basis of having a large market, complementary strengths and the prospect of being soon connected by free trade agreements.
He believed that the results of this visit will open up a new era for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, making agriculture a breakthrough area of bilateral cooperation.
The PM suggested the two ministries of agriculture establish a Joint Working Group to closely coordinate to implement high-level commitments, including further opening the market for each other's agricultural products; promote on-site agricultural investment; establish a partnership in coffee production and consumption, establish a joint Vietnam-Brazil coffee brand; and establish a partnership in food security, whereby Vietnam supplies rice, ensuring food security for Brazil.
Fávaro expressed his deep affection for Vietnam, admiration for the ideals and vision of President Ho Chi Minh, and his honour of visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum when he accompanied President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Vietnam in March 2025.
The minister highly appreciated Vietnam’s tradition of attaching importance to agriculture and the growing strength of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international arena. He expressed his wish to deepen bilateral agricultural cooperation, a pillar of the newly established Strategic Partnership.
Agreeing with the PM’s proposals, Fávaro affirmed his determination to effectively implement the commitments and directions of the two countries' senior leaders, turning friendship and cooperation potential into concrete results. He expressed his willingness to exchange a list of key products to work with Vietnam to determine a roadmap for opening the market for agricultural products of both sides.
The minister also wished to connect Vietnamese and Brazilian agricultural enterprises, build a partnership in trade and investment in the direction of linking and complementing each other in the agricultural production chain, exchanging and transferring machinery, equipment and technologies for agricultural production and processing, helping to increase the output and quality of agricultural products of both countries.
The two sides agreed to promptly implement the committed steps, meeting the potential and expectations of both sides in agricultural cooperation, contributing to the Vietnam-Brazil Strategic Partnership.
On this occasion, PM Chinh and Minister Fávaro witnessed the export of the first container of Brazilian beef to Vietnam. The PM affirmed that this event, along with the first export shipment of tra-basa fish and tilapia from Vietnam to Brazil on this occasion, is a testament to the close, trustworthy and mutually beneficial agricultural cooperation between the two countries, creating momentum to strengthen cooperation in the coming time./.
