The signing took place within the framework of the Vietnam visit by President Khurelsukh and his spouse, said the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), noting the MoU is set to establish a comprehensive cooperation mechanism to ensure food supply and stabilise the rice market in both countries.

The document is significant to implementing tasks set out by the Prime Minister to promote and diversify Vietnam's rice export markets, while contributing to consolidating and promoting the bilateral trade relations, the ministry added.

Under the MoU, the Mongolian ministry will estimate the country’s rice import demand for the following year. On that basis, the MoIT will support connections with the private sector to export rice according to Mongolia's needs.

The two sides will regularly organise exchange programmes and trade connections between rice importers and exporters to implement the MoU in general as well as promote rice trade exchange between the two countries' businesses in particular.

Statistics show that Mongolia is an early economic and trade partner of Vietnam in Asia and around the world, with their first trade agreement signed in 1958.

Vietnam is currently Mongolia's 11th largest trade partner, with two-way trade growing 6.5% to 85.4 million USD last year./.VNA