Vietnam and Australia will promote sci-technology cooperation, focusing mainly on healthcare, agriculture and the environment.

Representatives from the two sides reached the consensus during the First Vietnam-Australia Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Cooperation in Science and Technology in Canberra, Australia on March 17.

Accordingly, the two countries will boost links in applying biomedical technology in healthcare, disease diagnosis and treatment, while advancing the use of bio-technologies in agricultural production, farm produce processing, breeding, aquaculture, post-harvest preservation, and disease prevention in these sectors.

The two sides will also work to enhance the application of scientific and technological advances in operating irrigation works and in researching agricultural practices adaptable to climate change, especially impacts caused by saline intrusion and drought.

The Vietnamese side established a Vietnam-Australia subcommittee on cooperation in science and technology with the participation of the Ministries of Health, Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development.

In his speech at the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh highlighted the significance of the meeting, saying that it helps define orientations for sci-technology connection between the two countries in the time ahead.

Cooperation mechanisms and coordination discussed at the meeting will contribute to improving efficiency of cooperation programmes, thus further promoting socio-economic development in both countries, he stressed.

The second meeting of this kind was scheduled to take place in Hanoi at the end of 2018.

VNA