Viet Nam, UK promote agricultural cooperation and green transition

Viet Nam and the UK are promoting cooperation in agriculture, environment, renewable energy, and green transition, with the goal of achieving Net Zero.

On December 15, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang received Mr. Iain Frew, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Viet Nam, working at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

The meeting took place in a particularly meaningful context, as Viet Nam and the United Kingdom had just officially upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership during General Secretary To Lam’s visit to the UK in October 2025. This milestone is a significant indicator of political trust, long-term vision, and determination to strengthen substantive cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking at the reception, Minister Tran Duc Thang highly appreciated the practical results of Viet Nam-UK cooperation over the past years, especially in agriculture and the environment.

According to the Minister, both sides have effectively implemented numerous cooperation programs on sustainable transition, climate and ocean adaptation, sustainable forest development, and biodiversity conservation. These achievements have made an essential contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals of each country.

In hydrometeorology, Viet Nam and the United Kingdom have also actively collaborated on research into forecasting models and on developing climate change response scenarios, thereby improving forecasting capacity and reducing disaster risk. Minister Tran Duc Thang expressed his sincere appreciation for the UK Government's timely support to Viet Nam during the recent floods and acknowledged the British Embassy's Viet Nam's active coordination within DRRP.

In the face of growing challenges from climate change, Minister Tran Duc Thang emphasized the critical role of international cooperation. He expressed his confidence that this meeting would serve as an opportunity for the two sides to continue exchanging information, sharing experiences, and seeking joint solutions to pressing environmental issues, while also learning from the United Kingdom’s experience in implementing green policies from strategic planning and management to technological application, so as to apply them appropriately to Viet Nam’s practical conditions.

Building on the solid foundation of cooperation already established, Viet Nam wishes to expand further and strengthen collaboration with the United Kingdom in several key areas. Among these, cooperation in agricultural development, sustainable mineral exploitation, renewable energy development, and disaster prevention and response are consistently identified as priorities in bilateral relations.

Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Iain Frew stated that the United Kingdom attaches great importance to, and seeks to further promote, cooperation with Viet Nam. In the agricultural sector, bilateral trade turnover has grown rapidly in recent years and still holds considerable untapped potential. The Ambassador expressed hope that Vietnamese agricultural products would gain broader access to UK consumers, while also expecting that key UK products, such as lamb and beef, would have more opportunities to enter the Vietnamese market.

According to Ambassador Iain Frew, the two sides have many favorable conditions to expand their markets and promote balanced, mutually beneficial growth in bilateral trade. In addition, the United Kingdom stands ready to work with Viet Nam to implement new initiatives in low-carbon agriculture, contributing to achieving the net-zero emissions goal while ensuring sustainable livelihoods.

Further discussing the potential for bilateral cooperation, Minister Tran Duc Thang noted that Vietnamese and British goods are highly complementary. Beyond agriculture, the United Kingdom has strengths in industry, while Viet Nam holds significant potential in mineral extraction and processing.

Viet Nam seeks the United Kingdom’s support in developing advanced processing technologies to increase value added, and in promoting cooperation in the marine economy and renewable energy, particularly wind power, as well as in developing carbon market policies.

Minister Tran Duc Thang also affirmed that, alongside the implementation of the memoranda of understanding already signed in the fields of agriculture and the environment, the two sides will work closely to carry out the commitments set out in Article 4 of the Joint Declaration on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with a focus on cooperation in environment, energy, and the green transition. Viet Nam and the United Kingdom jointly reaffirmed their commitment to advancing a clean, just, and sustainable energy transition toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

Both sides agreed that, on the foundation of the comprehensive strategic partnership, Viet Nam and the United Kingdom still have significant room to expand substantive and effective cooperation, thereby contributing to the realization of each country’s sustainable development goals in the coming period.

Khuong Trung