Vietnam and Egypt on May 10 signed afishing and aquaculture cooperation agreement to facilitate theirrelevant agencies’ partnership in the field.

The agreement was inked in Ho Chi Minh City by Luong Le Phuong,Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Prof. Dr.Mohamed Fathy Osman, President of the General Authority for FishResources Development.

Under the agreement, Vietnam will provide short-term trainingcourses on aquaculture in the open sea and cage fish breeding forEgyptian experts and technicians.

The two countries will exchange visits by fishery and aquacultureofficials, experts, and technicians as well as aquatic product qualitycontrollers.

They pledged to encourage their fishing and aquaculture research andtraining facilities to team up in developing incubation and breedingtechnologies for aquatic varieties, including fish and shrimp.

The two countries will encourage relevant agencies to exchange theoutcomes of fishing and aquaculture studies and examinations of aquaticproduct quality, as well as publications to promote fish farming.

Besides, they agreed to facilitate private cooperation, investment andpartnership in the breeding of seawater and freshwater aquaticcreatures, intensive fish farming, and other fields.

The two countries agreed to convene their third meeting in Cairo,Egypt, in the second half of 2011.

While in Vietnam from May 4 to 10, the Egyptian delegation heldworking sessions with a number of Vietnamese fish farmingestablishments.

They met with counterparts from relevant public agencies, researchinstitutes and businesses in Ho Chi Minh City and the southernprovinces of Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

On February 16, 2004, the Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries and theEgyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation signed amemorandum of understanding on fish resources development.

The two sides held their first meeting in Hanoi on December 9, 2004./.