US embassy cable - 05HANOI197

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000197 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ETRD, KSCA, SENV, TBIO, VM, AFLU 
SUBJECT:  VIETNAM:  AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON THE MINISTER OF 
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT 
 
1. Summary.  On January 20, The Ambassador paid a courtesy 
call on Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao 
Duc Phat.  In addition to traditional agricultural and 
aquaculture products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Development (MARD) has responsibility for the export of 
furniture.  MARD has also played a leading role in the GVN 
effort to combat the spread of Avian Influenza (AI). 
Minister Phat described the GVN response to AI and requested 
continued U.S. support.  He also assured the Ambassador that 
the GVN does not intend to ban the import of frozen U.S. 
poultry products.  They also discussed their shared desire 
to increase bilateral agricultural trade and technical 
cooperation.  Minister Phat also expressed the GVN's 
interest in supporting the establishment of a global tsunami 
early warning system (EWS).  End Summary. 
 
Avian Influenza and Poultry Imports 
----------------------------------- 
 
2. Minister Phat expressed appreciation for USG support in 
dealing with AI in 2004, and he urgently requested 
additional support for the current crisis.  The Ambassador 
assured the Minister that the United States is prepared to 
work with Vietnam on combating this threat.  He encouraged 
the GVN to work in a concerted and comprehensive manner to 
determine its needs and to coordinate requests for 
international assistance through the WHO and FAO.  The 
Ambassador added that several U.S. government agencies are 
willing to send technical experts, but the GVN needs to 
provide specific requests that identify Vietnam's needs and 
interests. 
 
3. In addition to the deaths of 20 Vietnamese in 2004, 
Minister Phat estimates that AI caused approximately USD 100 
million in damages and losses of some 43 million poultry 
stock.  Since December 2004, AI has claimed the lives of six 
Vietnamese.  Minister Phat's worst fear is a widespread 
outbreak of AI during the regular flu season.  To counter 
such an occurrence the GVN has mobilized "all available 
forces."  Minister Phat serves as the chairman of the GVN's 
National AI Steering Committee that also includes the 
Minister of Health and "several" other ministries.  The GVN 
has also established a task force that includes 
representatives of the WHO and FAO to coordinate its 
response.  On a regional level, Phat noted that Vietnam has 
begun to cooperate with its neighbors, but at the moment 
cooperation is mainly limited to exchange of information. 
Vietnam cooperates most closely with Thailand, Phat added. 
 
4. As a precautionary measure, Vietnam has instituted a ban 
on the importation of poultry from neighboring countries 
where AI has occurred in the past.  According to Phat, the 
GVN has not considered extending this ban to frozen poultry 
from the United States and is not likely to do so in the 
future. 
 
Targeting Increased Trade of Agricultural Goods 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5. Minister Phat shares the Ambassador's objective of 
increasing bilateral trade in agricultural goods and agreed 
that raising the agricultural share of trade volume to 25 
percent (from the current 18) is doable.  Phat believes 
there is great potential to expand trade in both directions, 
especially in mutually beneficial trade such as the import 
of U.S. hardwoods and re-export of furniture.  Vietnam 
imports significant amounts of wheat, cotton, soybean 
products and urea and synthetic fertilizers, and would 
welcome growth in the market share taken by the United 
States.  According to Phat, Vietnam also considers the 
United States a good source of high-quality varieties of 
livestock and will continue to import the highest-quality 
varieties.  However, he believes that the U.S. portion of 
Vietnam's leading export commodities such as pepper, 
cashews, rubber and coffee is still modest. 
 
GVN Interest in Continued Technical Assistance 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6. Minister Phat and the Ambassador agreed that increased 
technical assistance would help expand bilateral 
agricultural trade.  Phat added that he hopes to increase 
the amount of bilateral technical cooperation by signing 
various cooperative agreements with USG technical agencies. 
The Minister also expressed an interest in exchange programs 
that will help Vietnamese farmers and business people better 
understand the market economy and legal framework of the 
United States.  The Ambassador noted that the USAID- 
supported project assisting dragon fruit producers in south- 
central Vietnam will set the stage for additional success 
and help Vietnamese farmers better understand how to bring 
produce to market in the United States.  The Ambassador also 
highlighted an upcoming exchange between MARD and U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) 
which will help MARD to improve its forecasts of key 
commodities production. 
 
7. Minister Phat thanked the United States for the 
assistance his ministry and others in Vietnam have received 
through the Food for Progress (FFP) program.  He was well 
briefed on the outcome of the sale of an FFP wheat shipment 
scheduled to arrive in early February.  With total revenue 
of USD 5.4 million, USD 1.2 million higher than anticipated, 
these funds will provide added flexibility to support 
additional infrastructure projects and technical assistance 
programs such as the Norman Borlaug Fellows program. 
Global Tsunami EWS 
------------------ 
8. The GVN is interested in participating in the 
establishment of a global tsunami EWS, and Minister Phat 
expressed his appreciation for previous USG support for 
disaster relief and mitigation in Vietnam.  The delegation 
attending the World Conference on Disaster Reduction being 
held currently in Kobe, Japan is comprised primarily of 
officials from MARD's Central Committee for Flood and Storm 
Control.  According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 
GVN has yet to designate an agency with overall 
responsibility for disaster mitigation, but MARD will play a 
critical role in future efforts because of its management of 
the country's water control dike system. 
 
9. At 48, Minister Cao Duc Phat is one of the youngest 
ministers in the GVN.  He is highly respected by his peers 
and those within the diplomatic and international donor 
communities with whom he has dealt.  He came across in this 
meeting as soft-spoken, but knowledgeable.  He repeatedly 
expressed his appreciation for U.S. support and engagement 
with Vietnam.  Minister Phat also readily accepted the 
Ambassador's offer to meet frequently to discuss 
agricultural issues of mutual concern. 
 
MARINE