Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that Saudi Arabia's management agency lift the suspension of seafood imports from Vietnam.

On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Saudi Arabia, on October 29, 2024, the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam led by Deputy Minister Hoang Trung had a working session with the Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

Receiving the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were Mr. Hishsam S. Aljadhey, Director General of SFDA and colleagues.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung highly appreciated the active cooperation of Saudi Arabia's management agencies, especially SFDA, in recent times to promote agricultural, forestry and fishery trade between the two countries. Vietnam always recognizes Saudi Arabia as a large market and one of Vietnam's important partners in the Middle East region.

Most of the main agricultural, forestry and fishery products exported to the Saudi Arabian market grew strongly in the first 9 months of 2024, especially vegetables and fruits (10.9 million USD, up 51.4%), rice (22.7 million USD, up 43.7%), pepper (12.5 million USD, up 34%); only seafood products had a slight decline (59.1 million USD, down 0.2%).

On the basis of the good cooperative relationship and to promote the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products between the two countries, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung proposed that SFDA consider promptly removing Directive No. 21174 dated January 23, 2018 on the temporary suspension of imports of farmed aquatic products from Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Hoang Trung (left) and Hishsam S. Aljadhey, Director General of the Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) discussed opportunities to promote agricultural trade. Photo: HTQT.

Mr. Hishsam S. Aljadhey affirmed that he will send a technical delegation to Vietnam to assess the actual food safety control system for the aquaculture production chain as soon as possible to have a basis to lift the entire temporary suspension of imports of aquaculture products from Vietnam.

Also at the meeting, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung shared information about the National Halal Conference with the theme "Promoting internal strength, enhancing international cooperation to promote the development of Vietnam's Halal industry" chaired by the Prime Minister and held on October 22, 2024. The Embassy and Saudi Arabian partners in Vietnam also attended the Conference and shared very useful regulations and experiences for Vietnamese state management agencies and enterprises.

Within the framework of international economic cooperation, the Halal market is opening up many great cooperation opportunities with outstanding potentials. The global Halal market is forecast to reach a size of up to 10,000 billion USD by 2028, spreading across the world, from Muslim to non-Muslim countries, in which the Muslim population is forecast to reach 2.8 billion people by 2050, accounting for nearly 30% of the global population.

Vietnam wishes to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in the production and certification of Halal products. The Deputy Minister asked Saudi Arabia to provide market and taste information to promote Vietnamese agricultural products to access the Halal food market in Saudi Arabia. He also asked SFDA to share policies and regulations on mutual recognition of Halal certification, focusing on agricultural, aquatic and livestock products.

Hishsam S. Aljadhey said that the Saudi Arabian Government is implementing the Vision 2030 Strategy, which focuses on diversifying food and food supply sources. Therefore, cooperation on Halal products with Vietnam, especially NLTS products, is one of Saudi Arabia's top priorities. SFDA is ready to share experiences and regulations on halal certification with the Vietnamese management agency.

Mr. Hishsam S. Aljadhey suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consider signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in this field with Saudi Arabia. Deputy Minister Hoang Trung agreed with the initiative of SFDA and will direct the agencies under the Ministry to exchange and discuss specifically with the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Vietnam and SFDA on the above proposal./.

Source: https://danviet.vn/thu-truong-bo-nnptnt-de-nghi-co-quan-quan-ly-cua-saudi-arabia-go-bo-viec-dinh-chi-nhap-khau-thuy-san-tu-viet-nam-20241030175855435.htm