Marcos, Vietnamese PM eye expanded agri ties

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 11) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh aim to strengthen the partnership in agriculture between the two countries, the Palace said Thursday.

During their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, Malacañang said that Marcos highlighted the trade relationship of the Philippines and Vietnam in the area of agriculture, which he hopes would go “beyond just in trading in rice.”

“I think that the market is ripe for continued development in the areas of course as I mention, in agriculture, transfer of technologies for climate change, the different areas that we have been looking at also at specific products that Vietnam has been successful at,” he told the Vietnamese official.

The Vietnamese executive, meanwhile, welcomed Marcos’ statement, vowing to closely work with their counterparts in the Philippines on trade promotion.

Pham said they would look into agricultural products that they "can afford to provide” in the long-term to the Philippines.

The Vietnamese prime minister added that both countries must “ensure stability” in the products and their prices to cushion possible “external shocks in the years to come.”

Marcos also said the two nations can draw strength from each other, as well as other Southeast Asian countries, to bolster their respective tourism recovery efforts.

The president is in Indonesia for the 42nd ASEAN Summit where top leaders discussed economic recovery efforts and other issues in the region.