Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. have designated relevant ministries and branches of the two nations to support the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on rice trade cooperation.
The prime minister had a bilateral meeting with Marcos Jr. on the occasion of attending the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
The two leaders stressed the importance of strengthening collaboration between Vietnam and the Philippines in order to respond quickly to recent complicated oscillations in the international and regional environment.
In order to strengthen the initiative, the two leaders decided to designate relevant ministries and branches of the two nations to support the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on rice trade cooperation to increase rice exports and imports.
The two sides also stated that they will continue to cooperate in key areas like agriculture, maritime science research, and climate change response. The nations are expanding their market penetration, which will help to quickly achieve their goal of increasing bilateral commerce to $10 billion in the coming years.
The leaders affirmed that President Marcos Jr.’s upcoming visit to Vietnam will create a new, strong impetus to develop the two countries' relations more effectively, bringing practical benefits to the people as well as making positive contributions to peace, security, and stability in the region.
According to the General Department of Customs, the Philippines ranked first in Vietnam's rice exports in the first nine months of this year, accounting for 38% of the total volume and 36.5% of the country's total rice export turnover. Specifically, in the period, the Philippines spent $1.29 billion to buy 2.44 million tons of rice from Vietnam.
According to the Philippine News Agency, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $7.8 billion in 2022, up 14.7% compared to 2021, with Vietnam’s exports pegged at $5.1 billion and imports at $2.7 billion.