Cooperation with Mozambique

Vice Chairwoman of the Can Tho People’s Committee Vo Thi Hong Anh and Mozambique Ambassador to Vietnam Gamiliel S. J. Munguambe discussed the expansion of cooperation in multiple fields between Mozambique and the Mekong Delta city during their working session on March 5.

Munguambe said he wants to further promote the friendly relations and cooperation between Mozambique and Vietnam, especially Can Tho, in various fields, including agriculture, seafood, and human resources training.

He said Mozambique’s economy depends heavily on agriculture. As an economic centre of the Mekong Delta that shares a lot of similarities with Mozambique in weather and the common interest in agricultural production, Can Tho will be the most appropriate partner for Mozambique to learn experience from in producing and processing rice and other farm produce. Can Tho also offers cooperation opportunities in agricultural human resources training.

Mozambique highly appreciated the efficiency and widespread application of high-tech agricultural models in Can Tho in recent years, he said, adding that the country wants to gain further knowledge in this field. He hoped Can Tho will serve as a bridge to support Mozambique in connecting with other agriculture power nations in Asia such as Japan, Thailand, and the Republic of Korea. In the field of education, Munguambe shared that after signing the protocol on cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Mozambique’s Ministry of Education in 2014, only some 30 Mozambican students have come to study in Vietnam and all of them attended courses at the National University of Agriculture in Hanoi.

Therefore, in the time ahead, Mozambique wants to tap the bilateral cooperation potential in education and training by increasing the number of its students to Vietnam, focusing on agriculture facilities in the southern region, especially universities in Can Tho, the diplomat said.

He asked municipal authorities to consider expanding trade and investment ties with Mozambique, and setting up twin ties between the cities of Moatize and Can Tho.

Since 2015, the Mozambique government has designated Moatize as a special economic zone for businesses operating in the field of agriculture, he said, adding that the city needs Vietnam’s assistance and cooperation to develop high-tech agricultural models. Anh said agriculture is Can Tho’s principal strength and it has been developing rapidly in recent years thanks to the application of high technologies, adding that the city exports over 1 billion USD worth of agricultural and aquatic products on an annual basis. The city is willing to share useful experience in production and processing with Mozambique in this field, she added. In the time to come, Can Tho will organise working trips to Mozambique to discuss specific details of bilateral cooperation in agriculture and cooperation programmes with universities in Mozambique, she unveiled.