Vietnam should not be complacent about achievements in farm exports, he said.

Hoan, attending a review conference of the diplomatic sector held on January 10, said he brought the gratitude of millions of farmers and thousands of agriculture enterprises for the help given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and overseas Vietnamese representative agencies to bring Vietnam’s farm produce to the world.

In 2022, Vietnam exported $53 billion of farm produce and enjoyed a trade surplus of $9 billion, which accounted for 75 percent of the total trade surplus of the economy.

“I can imagine that one morning, people in a certain country have rice and they know that this is Vietnamese rice. When they eat fish, they know that this is fish from Vietnam. As such, the word ‘Vietnam’ resounds in houses all over the world,” Hoan said.

He said that farm exports are not just about export turnover, but also about intangible strength. Export products bear national brands and Vietnamese images.

Hoan recalled a meeting in November 2021 between Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh and former Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Nikai Toshihiro. At the meeting, Suga Yoshihide and Nikai Toshihiro gave an Unshu mandarin as a gift to Chinh.

During his visit to Vietnam in 2020 as Japanese Prime Minister, Suga said Japan will cooperate with Vietnam to export Unshu mandarins to Vietnam. He also promised to simplify the supervision and examination, opening the Japanese market to Vietnam’s longan.

Recalling the meeting, Hoan said he had a lot of feelings about a country which is among the most developed countries in the world, but still attaches much importance to agriculture development.

He said in a world with a lot of changes, and fluctuations in the market, agriculture must not stay put, but should "adapt to new circumstances" as directed by Prime Minister.

Hoan hopes that cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and MOFA will be closer. “If you want to go fast, you should go alone, but if you want to go far, you should go together with friends,” he said.

He said he hopes the diplomatic sector "shows the way" to agriculture. “Diplomacy not only helps sell farm produce, but also brings intelligence and scientists, and foreign and overseas Vietnamese from all over the world to Vietnam for cooperation,” he said.

Tran Thuong