On the afternoon of December 5, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien had a meeting with US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper at the Fisheries Surveillance Training Center Region 5, Phu Quoc City (Kien Giang).
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien highly appreciated the support of the US and the attention of Ambassador Marc E. Knapper for the Vietnamese fisheries sector through programs/projects and technical assistance in the field of aquatic resources conservation. Especially the support in capacity building for the Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance force and prevention of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).
Ambassador Marc E. Knapper informed Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien about a new aid package worth 12.5 million USD for Vietnam.
The aid package will be allocated to Vietnam's law enforcement agencies, part of which will support fisheries surveillance to purchase small boats, provide capacity building training, build training support models, and provide training on maritime law enforcement and combating IUU fishing.
Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien sincerely thanked the Ambassador and the US Government for their support to improve the capacity of the fisheries surveillance force. The Deputy Minister especially emphasized that the Ambassador's announcement is a meaningful milestone on the occasion of the 1-year anniversary of the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This support package will help supplement important resources for the Fisheries Surveillance Force and other maritime law enforcement forces of Vietnam to continue to effectively carry out tasks of fisheries law enforcement and combating IUU fishing.
Also during his visit and work in Phu Quoc, Ambassador Marc E. Knapper had the opportunity to observe trainees (mostly female officers), from fisheries law enforcement agencies and Vietnam Customs practicing boarding inspection vessels.
This activity is part of a series of capacity building activities to promote the role of women in maritime law enforcement, supported by the Office of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Agency (INL), US Mission to Vietnam.
