ASEAN debates farming standards

The Task Force on ASEAN Standards for Horticultural Produce and Other Food Crops yesterday, April 17, opened its annual meeting in Ha Noi.

At the four-day gathering, experts will discuss the improvement of regional standards for agricultural products to ensure harmony with international standards. Ten draft standards will be discussed while five completely new ones will be drawn up.

To date, 19 ASEAN standards have already been adopted for vegetables and tropical fruits. Four relating to mango, pineapple, banana and durian will be reviewed to access their impacts on trade.

The task force also plans to frame ASEAN standards for star fruit, cocoa, tea, mushrooms, peanuts and sweet potato. These standards will then be proposed at the Special Senior Officials Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM/AMAF) for approval within this year.

The applications of the ASEAN standards would help increase the quality of agricultural products of member countries and their competitiveness in regional and international markets, said Hoang Thi Dung from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the first quarter of this year, agricultural exports earned US$5.9 billion, meeting over 20 per cent of the target set for the year.

Peace groups boost Vietnam-China relations

Photo: VOV

During the meeting, both sides exchanged information on recent developments and discussed activities to foster peace among their people. They agreed that the cooperation between the two countries’ peace-keeping organizations has achieved positive results recently.

They also suggested exchanging experience as well as tightening their co-ordination in international activities in the future to contribute to maintaining peace and stability in both countries, the region and the world.

The three-day official visit by Li Wuwei, who is also Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was made at the invitation of VPC.

Diplomats pay tribute to US doctor

A delegation of the Vietnamese Embassy in the US, led by Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong, paid tribute to Doctor Judith Ladinsky (1938 –2012) in Madison City in the state of Wisconsin on April 15.

Ambassador Cuong expressed his condolences to Ladinsky’s family and thanked for her enduring support for the Vietnamese people, especially when Vietnam was under the US embargo.

As Chair of the US Committee for Medical Cooperation with Vietnam since 1980, Ladinsky brought scientists from both countries together, which laid the foundation for bilateral cooperation in health care, agriculture, education and social sciences.

She promoted many projects to raise funds and donate medicines to the Vietnamese people, especially those in remote areas. She also actively joined in campaigns calling on the US government to normalise its relations with Vietnam.

With Landinsky’s support, hundreds of Vietnamese students were offered the chance to study or work in US universities.

In 1999, she was conferred the Friendship Order by the State President of Vietnam and many other distinguished awards from several Vietnamese ministries and agencies.

She also received the 2011 Peacemaker of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. Wisconsin University has now set up a fund named after her, to continue to support research and teaching in Vietnam.

Doctor Landinsky worked as the Director of the Office of International Health Affairs at Wisconsin University’s Department of Population Health Sciences.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA