Minister Trinh Viet Hung meet with Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki

Viet Nam and Japan promote the medium and long-term Cooperation Vision implementation, focusing on environmental policy.

On April 24, at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment headquarters, Minister Trinh Viet Hung received and held talks with Mr. Ito Naoki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Viet Nam.

The two sides discussed a range of key cooperation areas to effectively implement the Cooperation Vision for 2025-2030, creating momentum for sustainable development in agriculture and environmental sectors. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh.

Congratulating Minister Trinh Viet Hung on his new position, Ambassador Ito Naoki expressed confidence that cooperation between the two countries in agriculture and environment will continue to be strongly promoted. The Ambassador recalled that in September 2025, the two ministries signed a document on the medium- and long-term Cooperation Vision, and also expressed his hope that the Minister would soon visit Japan to further advance cooperation, particularly in environmental policy.

Regarding the upcoming high-level visits by leaders of the two countries, the Japanese side proposed working with Viet Nam to identify specific areas to include in the outcomes of the visits, thereby strengthening the cooperation framework and establishing an effective dialogue mechanism.

At the meeting, Ambassador Ito Naoki proposed strengthening resource recycling activities and making use of Japan’s advanced technologies and equipment for resource recovery. He also emphasized the importance of the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) and expressed his hope for the early signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.

Notably, according to Ambassador Ito Naoki, Viet Nam’s issuance of a decree on international carbon credit trading, effective from April 1, has opened up broader opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. However, to ensure effective implementation, existing cooperation frameworks need to be adjusted in line with Viet Nam’s new regulations as well as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The Ambassador had previously discussed this matter with the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, who expressed support.

In agriculture, the two countries are focusing their cooperation on digital transformation and emission reduction. For the 1-million-hectare high-quality rice program in the Mekong Delta, the Japanese side stated that both government agencies and enterprises are interested in participating, with initiatives including the provision of digital transformation solutions, emission reduction technologies, and pilot agricultural inputs to improve crop productivity and resilience.

Regarding ODA cooperation, Ambassador Ito Naoki informed that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is implementing a water management project in Ben Tre, including the construction of salinity-prevention sluice gates, and proposed accelerating its progress. In addition, the pilot SABO dam project in Son La has been successful, and the Japanese side expressed interest in exploring the possibility of scaling up this model nationwide.

In the field of meteorology and hydrology, Japanese companies are implementing a wide range of advanced technological solutions and wish to expand cooperation with Viet Nam. The Ambassador specifically highlighted collaboration with Viet Nam’s Department of Hydrometeorology in forecasting and management, as well as the promotion of cooperation with WeatherNews.

In addition, in July, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will organize a delegation of government agencies and agribusiness companies to survey the Vietnamese market, working in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and expressed its hope for support from Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

During the meeting, Minister Trinh Viet Hung affirmed that Viet Nam fully supports cooperation initiatives with Japan in areas of mutual interest. Regarding the Agricultural Cooperation Vision already signed, the Minister agreed to further enhance its effectiveness and proposed establishing a clearer coordination mechanism following this working session.

For the 1-million-hectare high-quality rice program in the Mekong Delta, the Minister thanked the Japanese side for its goodwill support through JICA loan funding, and said the Ministry would continue to review and soon report to the Government on specific cooperation contents.

Regarding the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), the Minister emphasized that it is a very important initiative, noting that the Ministry would submit it to the Prime Minister on the same day to promptly report to senior leadership and accelerate the signing process as soon as possible.

For projects such as water management in Ben Tre and the SABO dam model in Son La, the Minister acknowledged their effectiveness and said relevant agencies would be tasked with studying and proposing suitable implementation approaches to maintain and expand them.

Regarding the proposal to support a flood early warning system, the Minister said the Ministry would assign the Department of Hydrometeorology to proactively work with Japanese partners, including WeatherNews, to implement a pilot project as soon as possible. At the same time, the Ministry is also reviewing other international cooperation models to accelerate progress.

For the proposal to support import procedures for equipment serving the marine plastic waste survey project, the Minister affirmed that the Ministry is always ready to accompany and support, and requested the Japanese side to provide timely information in order to offer maximum assistance.

Minister Trinh Viet Hung also stated that he would prioritize time to attend an event with a Japanese business delegation in July, viewing it as an opportunity to strengthen connections between enterprises of both countries and promote investment and trade cooperation in agriculture and food sectors.

Highly appreciating Japan’s concrete cooperation proposals, the Minister emphasized that Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is committed to close coordination with Japanese agencies and partners, contributing to further deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the coming period.

Khuong Trung - Quynh Chi