On the morning of April 14, 2026 (local time), in Rome (Italy), Politburo Member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Mr. Khuat Dong Ngoc, General Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the occasion of his official visit to the Republic of Italy.
Affirming that Vietnam always considers FAO as a top important partner in agricultural and rural development, the National Assembly Chairwoman welcomed the cooperation projects between FAO and ministries, branches and localities of Vietnam, including the transformation of the food and foodstuff system, and the implementation of the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta by 2030.
Pleased with the information that Vietnam has established a new growth model, improved the competitiveness of the economy, taking science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the main driving forces, as well as Vietnam's efforts in ensuring food security, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam always promotes sustainable agriculture models, transforming the food and food system; requested FAO to coordinate and support Vietnam's efforts.
Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, the National Assembly Chairman requested FAO to support Vietnam in the process of restructuring the agricultural sector towards improving added value and green, sustainable, smart development, responding to climate change; transforming the food system, controlling diseases, especially from animals to humans, and promoting digital transformation in agriculture.
FAO General Director Khuat Dong Ngoc said that Vietnam has truly taken off and will continue to develop outstandingly under the wise leadership of General Secretary and President To Lam, Vietnamese leaders, including National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man personally.
Appreciating the Party and State of Vietnam's reorganization of the apparatus and policy adjustments to ensure sustainable development and increasingly improved people's lives, the FAO General Director requested Vietnam to continue to share experiences and spread the current typical development model to many countries and regions.
The FAO Director-General affirmed that FAO always considers Vietnam an important partner in the region, and highly appreciates Vietnam's leadership role in the agricultural sector, welcomes the trilateral cooperation model in Africa and the "One Commune One Product" national program in Vietnam; at the same time, he also shared the concern of the National Assembly Chairman about the epidemic issue, which is also the concern of FAO today, and hoped that Vietnam would continue to accompany FAO in these efforts.
He expressed his willingness to continue promoting cooperation with Vietnam in priority areas such as food system transformation, sustainable food, green agriculture and climate change adaptation.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and FAO General Director Khuat Dong Ngoc agreed that Vietnam and FAO will continue to strengthen coordination, promote the effectiveness of existing cooperation programs and projects, and expand cooperation in the fields of sustainable agriculture, innovation and transformation of the food and foodstuff system, thereby contributing to ensuring food security and sustainable development in the region and the world.
