Vietnam and Timor-Leste foster cooperation in rice, coffee, and fisheries
WVR - On October 8, in the capital city of Dili, Vietnamese Ambassador to Timor-Leste Pham Binh Dam held a working session with Timor-Leste's Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry Marcos da Cruz to discuss specific cooperation directions in agriculture, fisheries, and preparations for the first meeting of the Vietnam-Timor-Leste Joint Committee.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Timor-Leste Pham Binh Dam working with Timor-Leste's Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry Marcos da Cruz. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Timor-Leste) |
Minister Marcos da Cruz expressed gratitude to Vietnam for supporting Timor-Leste in becoming the 11th member of ASEAN and highly appreciated Vietnam's achievements and experience in agricultural and fisheries development. According to the Minister, Timor-Leste has potential in land, livestock, and marine resources, but its agricultural production remains small-scale, and infrastructure and fisheries workforce need further investment and development.
Timor-Leste seeks to learn from Vietnam's experience to enhance production capacity, ensure food security, and sustainably exploit resources.
Ambassador Pham Binh Dam affirmed that Vietnam values its friendship and cooperation with Timor-Leste and wishes to effectively implement the high-level agreements reached during Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's official visit to Vietnam in June 2026, including promoting cooperation in rice, agricultural products, and fisheries.
Vietnam is ready to share experiences and connect specialized agencies and businesses from both countries to implement programs that align with Timor-Leste's development needs, delivering tangible results and practical benefits for the people and businesses of both nations.
In agriculture, the Ambassador proposed linking the supply of agricultural products with supporting Timor-Leste in enhancing domestic production capacity. Rice and coffee are two promising fields for cooperation in varieties, cultivation techniques, equipment, and human resource training. Based on Vietnam's agricultural cooperation experience with Cuba and some African countries, the Ambassador suggested that both sides explore a trilateral cooperation model, mobilizing additional resources from international organizations and development partners to supplement the bilateral channel.
In fisheries and marine economy, the two sides discussed potential cooperation in aquaculture, exploitation, shipbuilding, processing, fisheries infrastructure development, and human resource training.
The Ambassador proposed enhancing the application of digital technology in monitoring fisheries activities, traceability, and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; selecting some feasible content for piloting and then expanding. The Embassy is ready to connect and introduce Vietnamese businesses interested in this field.
Minister Marcos da Cruz welcomed Vietnamese businesses interested in investing in the fisheries and processing sectors in Timor-Leste and expressed a desire for projects to be linked with technology transfer and human resource training.
The Minister suggested that businesses continue direct exchanges with the Ministry's specialized units to concretize plans and assess implementation feasibility; at the same time, he hoped both sides would enhance experience sharing and cooperation in areas related to people's livelihoods.
Regarding preparations for the first meeting of the Vietnam-Timor-Leste Joint Committee co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of both countries, the Ambassador emphasized the need for both sides to soon identify priority areas, programs, projects, and cooperation documents.
In the immediate term, the Ambassador suggested that Timor-Leste coordinate to finalize the draft Memorandum of Understanding on fisheries cooperation and study the development of agricultural cooperation documents, creating a framework for long-term, effective cooperation in agriculture and fisheries between the two countries.
(Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Timor-Leste)
